Transcriber Note Text emphasis denoted as _Italic_. STRAY FEATHERS FROM A BIRD MAN'S DESK STRAY FEATHERS FROM A BIRD MAN'S DESK By Austin L. Rand CURATOR OF BIRDS, CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM WITH CARTOONS BY RUTH JOHNSON DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC., GARDEN CITY, N.Y., 1955 _Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 55-5254_ _Copyright, 1955, by Austin L. Rand_ © _All Rights Reserved_ _Printed in the United States_ _At the Country Life Press, Garden City, N.Y._ _First Edition_ CONTENTS PAGE Introduction 9 Birds Using Tools 15 Birds as Brigands 19 Birds Bathing 22 How Birds Anoint Their Feathers 25 Traveling Birds' Nests 28 Maladaptation in Birds 31 Feathered Baby Sitters and Co-op Nursery Nests 35 Birds' Nests and Their Soup 38 Walled Wives of Hornbills 42 Buried Eggs and Young 45 The Snowy Owl as a Trade Index 48 Monkey Birds 51 Bird-Made Incubators 54 Cormorant Fishing 57 The Shrike's Larder 60 Bird Flavors 63 How Many Feathers Has a Bird? 66 Last Year's Birds' Nests 69 Symbiosis--Animals Living in Mixed Households 73 Bird Apartment Houses 77 Bird Helpers at Nesting Time 81 A Name for a Boat 84 Weavers and Tailors in the Bird World 88 Social Parasites among Birds 91 Fish Eats Bird! 95 Crows Are Smarter Than "Wise" Owls 98 Tame Wild Birds 101 Birds as Pilferers 104 Hibernation in Birds 108 Snakeskins in Birds' Nests 111 Co-operation by Birds 117 Watchdogs at the Nest 121 Bird Guides to Honey 124