Then, with regard to the nests; have you not seen rooks and cranes carrying in their mouths the twigs with which they build theirs in the top of very high trees? And have you not watched these nests swinging about in the wind, and wondered that they did not fall? Some of our birds build in holes of trees, some line their nests beautifully with any soft thing they can find; blackbirds and thrushes make theirs of mud. But instead of describing how the nests of our English birds are made, I will copy for you, out of Leslie's poetry-book, a little poem, which will help you to know where to search for the nests of different birds:—
"The skylark's nest among the grass
And waving corn is found;
The robin's in a shady bank,
With oak-leaves strewed around.
"The wren builds in an ivied thorn
Or old and ruined wall,
The mossy nest so covered in
You scarce can see at all.
"The martins build their nests of clay
In rows beneath the eaves;
The silvery lichens, moss, and hair
The chaffinch interweaves.
"The cuckoo makes no nest at all,
But through the wood she strays.
Until she finds one snug and warm,
And there her eggs she lays.
"The sparrow has a nest of hay,
With feathers warmly lined;
The ringdove's careless nest of sticks
On lofty trees we find.
"Rooks build together in a wood,
And often disagree;
The owl will build beside a barn,
Or in a hollow tree.
"The blackbird's nest of grass and mud
On bush and bank is found;
The lapwing's darkly-spotted eggs
Are laid upon the ground.
"The magpie's nest is made with thorns,
In leafless tree or hedge;
The wild duck and the water hen
Build by the water's edge.
"Birds build their nests from year to year,
According to their kind;
Some very neat and beautiful,
Some simpler ones we find.