. Birds of La Plata [microform]. Oiseaux; Birds. 78 BIRDS OF LA PLATA is not mfrequently abandoned on account of these premature eggs. Some species, however, do not forsake their nests; and though they do not throw the parasitical eggs out, which would s< m the simplest plan, they have discovered how to ^et rid of them, and so save themselves the labour of making a fresh nest. Their method is to add a new deep lining, under which the strange eg^s are buried out of sight and give no more trouble. The Sisopygis icterophrys—z common Tyiant-bird in Buenos Ayres —^frequently has recourse to this
. Birds of La Plata [microform]. Oiseaux; Birds. 78 BIRDS OF LA PLATA is not mfrequently abandoned on account of these premature eggs. Some species, however, do not forsake their nests; and though they do not throw the parasitical eggs out, which would s< m the simplest plan, they have discovered how to ^et rid of them, and so save themselves the labour of making a fresh nest. Their method is to add a new deep lining, under which the strange eg^s are buried out of sight and give no more trouble. The Sisopygis icterophrys—z common Tyiant-bird in Buenos Ayres —^frequently has recourse to this expedient; and the nest it makes being rather shallow, the layer of fresh material, under which the strange eggs are buried, is built upwards above the rim of the original nest, so that this supplementary nest is like one saucer placed within another, and the observer is generally able to tell from the thickness of the whole structure whether any parasitical eggs have been entombed in it or not. Finding a very thick nest one day, containing two half-fledged young birds besides three addled eggs, I opened it, removing the upper portion or additional nest intact, and discovered beneath it three buried Molothrus eggs, their shells encrusted with dirt and glued together with broken- egg matter spilt over them. In trying to get them out without pulling the nest to pieces I broke them all ; two were quite rotten, but the third contained a living embryo, ready to be hatched, and very lively and hungry when I took it in my hand. The young Tyrant-birds were about a fortnight old, and as they hatch out only about twenty days after the parent-. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Hudson, W. H. (William Henry), 1841-1922. London ; Toronto : J. M. Dent & Sons
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1920
