being very similar to each other in shape, though not in material. These holes are not at all regular, and in some cases there are so many of them, that the bird seems to have found some special gratification in making them, just as a boy who has a new knife makes havoc on every piece of wood which he can obtain.

When the holes are completed, the bird next procures its thread, which is a long fibre of some plant, generally much longer than is needed for the task which it performs. Having found its thread, the feathered tailor begins to pass it through the holes, drawing the sides of the leaf towards each other, so as to form a kind of hollow cone, the point downwards. Generally a single leaf is used for this purpose, but whenever the bird cannot find one that is sufficiently large, it sews two together, or even fetches another leaf and fastens it with the fibre. Within the hollow thus formed the bird next deposits a quantity of soft white down, like short cotton wool, and thus constructs a warm, light, and elegant nest, which is scarcely visible among the leafage of the tree, and which is safe from almost every foe except man.

There are several nests of the Tailor Bird in the British Museum, one composed of several leaves, and the other in which one leaf is used. It is a pity that in all instances the leaf has been plucked from the twig on which it grew; and it is to be wished that when other specimens are brought to England the twig will be cut off, and that if the leaf should fall off, it may be replaced on the spot whereon it grew. Beautiful as is the detached nest, it does not give nearly so vivid an idea of its object as if it were still suspended to its branch.

The Tailor Bird is a native of India, and is tolerably familiar, haunting the habitations of man, and being often seen in the gardens and compounds, feeding away in conscious security. It seems to care little about lofty situations, and mostly prefers the ground, or lower branches of the trees, and flies to and fro with a peculiar undulating flight. Many species of the same genus are known to ornithologists.

THE tailor bird is not the only member of the feathered tribe which sews leaves together in order to form a locality for its nest. A rather pretty bird, the FAN-TAILED WARBLER (Salicaria

cisticola) has a similar method of action, though the nest cannot be ranked among the pensiles.

This bird builds among reeds, sewing together a number of their flat blades in order to make a hollow wherein its nest may be hidden; but the method which it employs is not precisely the same as that which is used by the tailor bird. Instead of passing its thread continuously through the holes, and thus sewing the leaves together, it has a great number of threads, and makes a knot at the end of each, in order to prevent it from being pulled through the hole. A description and beautiful figure of this bird may be seen in Gould's "Birds of Europe," Vol. ii.

THE odd little titmice can be admitted among the Pensile Birds, as one of them constructs a habitation as purely pensile as any which has yet been mentioned, and which yields in beauty to none. This is the PENDULINE TITMOUSE (Egithalus pendulinus), a native of Southern and Eastern Europe. As is the case with all its family, it is a little bird, scarcely exceeding four inches in length, and being marked with pleasing though not very brilliant colours. In general habits it resembles the bearded titmouse of England, haunting the sides of streams, and feeding upon the seeds of aquatic plants, as well as upon the various insects, larvæ, and small molluscs that are found so plentifully in the water.

The chief point of interest in this bird is, however, concentrated in its nest, which is made in a flask-like shape, and is mostly suspended to the extremity of some twig that overhangs the water. Willows, and other trees that are fond of the water, are favoured residences of this curious little bird. The larger end of the nest hangs downwards, so that at a little distance it looks like a huge pear with a rather long stem. The material of the nest is the cottony down of the willow and poplar, and the opening is always at the side. The position chosen is not invariably at the end of a twig, as the nest is sometimes found among the reeds, hidden by their thick stems from observation.

CHAPTER XII.

PENSILE BIRDS (CONTINUED).

Australian Pensiles-The YELLOW-THROATED SERICORNIS-Its habits-Singular position for its nest-Conscious security-The ROCK WARBLER-Shape and locality of its nest-The YELLOW-TAILED ACANTHIZA-Its colour and songSupplementary nests-The PINC-PINC and its home--Supposed use of the supplementary nest-The SINGING HONEY-EATER and its nest-The myall or weeping acacia-Various materials-The LUNULATED HONEY-EATER-A new material-The PAINTED HONEY-EATER, its habits and nest-The art of preservation-Nests and their branches-The colour of eggs-The WHITE-THROATED HONEY-EATER and its habits-Its curious nest-Locality of the nest-The GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN, and the resemblance of its nest to those of the Honey-Eater-The SWALLOW DICEUM-Its song and beauty of its plumageThe nest, its materials, form, and position-The MALURUS and its nest-The HAMMOCK BIRD--Singular method of suspending the nest-The WHITE-SHAFTED FANTAIL-Strange form of the nest-The appendage or tail of the nest.

SOME very remarkable instances of pensile birds' nests are found in Australia, and for many of them we are indebted to the patient and careful research of Mr. J. Gould, from whose skilful works on ornithology several illustrations have been, by permission, copied.

A very curious instance is found in the nest of the Yellowthroated Sericornis (Sericornis citreogularis), a rather pretty, but not a striking bird. The general colour is simple brown, and, as its name imparts, the throat is of a citron-yellow. The only remarkable point in the colour, beside the yellow throat, is a rather large patch of black, which envelops the eye and passes down each side of the neck, nearly as far as the shoulders. It is the largest of its genus, and, although not rare, is seldom seen. except by those who know where to look for it, as it is scarcely ever observed on the wing, but remains among the thick underwood, flitting occasionally between the branches, but mostly remaining on the ground, where it pecks about in search of the insects on which it feeds.

The reason for its mention in this work is the singular

structure of its nest, which is described by Mr. Gould in the following words:

"One of the most interesting points connected with the history of this species is the situation chosen for its nest.

"All those who have rambled in the Australian forests must have observed that, in their more dense and humid parts, an atmosphere peculiarly adapted for the rapid and abundant growth of mosses of various kinds is generated, and that these mosses not only grow upon the trunks of decayed trees, but are often accumulated in large masses at the extremities of the drooping branches. These masses often become of sufficient size to admit of the bird constructing a nest in the centre of them,

with so much art that it is impossible to distinguish it from any of the other pendulous masses in the vicinity. These bunches are frequently a yard in length, and in some places hang so near the ground as to strike the head of the explorer during his rambles; in others, they are placed high up on the trees, but only in such parts of the forest where there is an open space entirely shaded by overhanging foliage. As will be readily conceived, in whatever situations they are met with, they at all times form a remarkable and conspicuous feature in the landscape.

"Although the nest is constantly disturbed by the wind, and liable to be shaken when the tree is disturbed, so secure does the inmate consider itself from danger or intrusion of any kind, that I have frequently captured the female while sitting on her eggs, a feat that may always be accomplished by carefully placing the hand over the entrance-that is, if it can be detected, to effect which, no slight degree of close prying and examination is necessary.

"The nest is formed of the inner bark of trees, intermingled with green moss, which soon vegetates; sometimes dried grasses and fibrous roots form part of the materials of which it is composed, and it is warmly lined with feathers. The eggs, which are three in number, and much elongated in form, vary considerably in colour, the most constant tint being a clove-brown, freckled over the end with dark umber-brown, frequently assuming the form of a complete band or zone; their medium length is one inch, and their breadth eight lines."

If the reader will bear in mind the remarkable shape of this and a few other nests, he will see, in a future page, how wonderful is the resemblance between the pensile nests of birds and insects.

PENSILE birds do not always suspend their nests to the branches of trees, but in some instances choose exactly the localities which appear to be the most unsuited for the purpose. Still keeping to Australia, we may find a most wonderful example of a pensile nest near mountain courses. The bird which makes it is called, indifferently, the ROCK WARBLER, or the CATARACT BIRD (Origma rubricata), because it is always found where water-courses rush through rocky ground. So