ss, twigs, rootlets, or something of the kind in its bill. Now
watch closely, for you are in a fair way to discover a nest. The bird
may not go directly to the spot. If it suspects it is being watched it
may hop from twig to twig and from bush to bush for many minutes before
revealing its secret, and if it becomes very apprehensive it may even
drop its burden and begin a search for insects with the air of one who
had never even dreamed of building a nest. Even when unsuspicious it
will not always go directly to the nest. From an outhouse I once
watched a Blue Jay, with a twig, change its perch more than thirty
times before going to the fork where its nest was being built.

Sometimes a bird may be induced to reveal its secret by placing in its
sight tempting nesting material. By this means Mrs. Pearson last
summer found a Redstart's nest. Discovering a female industriously
hopping about near the camp, and suspecting what it was seeking, she
dropped some ravellings of a white cotton string from the veranda
railing, letting {23} them fall where the bird could see them. These
proved most acceptable, and the Redstart immediately appropriated them,
one at a time, with the result that she soon betrayed her nest.

Early morning is the best time of the day to find birds working at
their nests, for then they are most active. Perhaps a reason for this
is that the broken twigs, leaves, and dead grasses, wet with the dews
of night, are more pliable, and consequently more easily woven into
place.

For nesting sites birds as a rule prefer the open country. Rolling
meadowlands, with orchards, thickets, and occasional streams, are ideal
places for birds in spring.

_Number and Colour of Eggs._--The full complement of eggs laid by a
bird is known as a set or clutch. The number varies greatly with
different species. The Leach's Petrel, Murre, and some other sea
birds, have but one egg. The Turkey Vulture, Mourning Dove,
Hummingbird, Whip-poor-will, and Nighthawk lay two. Various Thrushes,
such as the {24} Robin, Veery, and Wood Thrush, deposit from three to
five, four being the most usual number. Wild Ducks, Turkeys, and
Grouse range from eight to a dozen or more; while Quails sometimes lay
as many as eighteen.

Eggs are variously coloured, and some are so marked that the blending
of their colours with those of their surroundings renders them
inconspicuous. Thus those of the Killdeer, Sandpiper, and Nighthawk,
for e