The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1914-06-13
BIRD STUDY
A Series of Articles on the
Habits of Birds That
Visit Madison
BIRDS NESTS.

BIRDS NESTS.
G. l.. Chamberlain i'm Our Dumb
Animals: How many people i'm gen
eral know even by sight the different
nests of our most common birds? Not
many. Perhaps this is so for the
very good reason that. though inter
ested in birds, they would not wish
TO disturb them in the least when
they are engaged in nest building. by
too close observation. The location,
method of construction and materials
used by some of the more familiar
birds may, accordingly, be briefly de-
scribed.
The wrens like to build in a roomy
cavity already constructed. For this
reason they are among the first of all
the feathered kind to appreciate and
use an artificial house placed in a
tree or on the side of a building. An
empty a or jug will prove accept
able while they are quite sure to
make use of the most elaborate house
one may are TO make and erect for
them. They are not averse to human
surroundings and often build a nest in
a window, particularly If it be par
TALLY concealed by blind or screen.
Although the robin usually builds
its own nest on some fence, window
sill or low hanging limb, it will oc-
cupy an artificial home if one of
suitable shape and size be placed in
a spot it would naturally select.
The chipping sparrow, smallest of
birds except the humming birds,
makes a beautiful nest almost entire
ly of long hairs twisted and woven
so securely together that one could
scarcely pull them apart. This little
home is built in q thick bush or low
tree, too frequently without regard
for the liking of the house cat and
| other enemies of tender young bird
lings.
Most otLer sparrows build on the
ground. An exception. however, Is
the English sparrow, which builds
anywhere-yes, and almost every
where. Wherever any other bird
| might build, the nest of the English
sparrow may be found. 1t has even
been known TO build in the forest.
Many birds build tree nests of vari-
| Gus material. The oriole constructs
its pouch-like nest of finely shredded
bark, hair and threads of the silk
weed. 1t carefully avoids its animal
enemies by suspending this pouch
from a long. slender limb, high up,
which would not sustain the weight
careful study.
The goldhnch builds a small nest
in which more bark than hair is used.
1t is very compact and hair-lined, and
found in low trees around the farm
and garden.
The common blackbird builds q
fairly large nest of woven grass and
twigs lined with hair and strings.
This nest is commonly found in an
evergreen whether in swamp or front
yard and from ten to twenty-five feet
above the ground. The thrush or
brown thrasher places its nest in
some low, thick bush, often a thorn
bush or a thick cluster of vines, four
of five feet at most from the ground.
The nests of all swallows are in
teresting, one more so than that of
the chimney swift, whose nest is
made of dead twigs. except its soft
lining, and glued with saliva upon a
side wall. One species builds in TX
cayations in the ground along a steep
bluff, frequently the high bank of a
stream. The nest of the barn swal-
low is usually found upon a rafter or
under the caves.
Many birds place their nests on the
ground, the smaller ground-building
birds taking as much pains in the for
nation of the nests as do the tree
builders. The meadow lark and bob
olink are both ground builders, the
nests being commonly found in a tuft
of thick grass well made, covered
partially and lined. The bob-white
is satisfied with a rather roughly
formed nest and is in the habit of
locating it in hay fields from which
the grass is cut before the little birds
are Matched and so there is great liza
bility of the home being prematurely
broken up with sad results.
Various attempts have been made
to classify birds nests, but none
have been complete, and it would
seem to be well-nigh impossible TO
make any classification that would
include all of the many different
kinds of construction. One authority
has divided the birds into the follow
ing twelve classes, according TO their
mode of nest building: miners,
ground builders, masons, carpenters,