There is a nest of another Australian bird which has some resemblance to that of the Swallow Dicæum, namely, the home of the species called Malurus cyaneus, one of a rather large group of birds which are peculiar to Australia. Like the habitation which has already been described, the nest of the Malurus is placed very high on the tree, and is purse-like in shape, having an aperture in the side through which the bird can pass. The Malurus belongs to the same group of birds as the remarkable emeu-wren, so well known for its long, hair-like tail-feathers, and its odd custom of holding that appendage erect as it trips over the grass. The Malurus has the same habit, though its tail is comparatively short, and does not attract much attention.

In a previous page it has been mentioned that a bird was undoubtedly the first tailor, and used needle and thread ages before. man had invented such implements. We now come to a bird which may be accepted as the first hammock-maker, its nest being made of a hammock-like shape, and slung just as a seaman slings his oscillating couch. Scarcely any more comfortable bed could be invented, provided that it be properly suspended, and the bird certainly deserves our gratitude, if it be only for the fact that it might have given the first hint on the subject.

It is one of the Honey-eaters, and is called the LANCEOLATE HONEY-EATER (Plectorhynchus lanceolatus), on account of the shape of its feathers. It is not a brilliantly colored bird, its hues being only brown and white, diversified by a black line down the middle of each feather. It does not seem to be a very lively bird, being accustomed to sit on the very top of some lofty tree, such as an acacia or eucalyptus, and to remain almost motionless in one spot. So still and quiet is it that it would hardly be seen were not its presence betrayed by an occasional powerful and shrilly-sounding whistle. Its food consists partly of insects, and partly of the pollen and sweet juices of flowers.

The wonderful nest of this bird was found by Mr. Gould on the Liverpool Plains, overhanging a stream, and being a beautiful example of the pensiles. The materials of which it is made are grass and wool, intermingled with the pure white cotton of certain flowers. As the reader may see by reference to the illustration, it is hung from a very slender twig, and only suspended at opposite extremities of the rim, the tree selected being the myall, or weeping acacia. The nest is rather small in proportion to the

bird, and is very deep, so that when the mother is sitting on her eggs, or brooding over her young, she is obliged to pack herself away very carefully, her tail projecting at one side of the nest and her head at the other.

OUR last example of the Australian pensile nests is one which is made by the WHITE-SHAFTED FANTAIL (Rhipidura albica), a native of Van Dieman's Land, and the southern and western portions of Australia. It is rather a pretty bird, being boldly marked with black and white, and is remarkable for the fact that the shafts and tips of the tail-feathers are pure white, the central feathers only excepted. It derives its popular name of Fantail from its habit of spreading its tail like a fan while descending, and as the tail is very broad, the action has a really remarkable effect.

The nest of this bird is of a figure not very easy to describe, but an idea of it may be formed from a common wine-strainer, with a very long and straight spout. The nest is attached to a branch rather below the middle of the cup, so that the long spout hangs down like a tail, quite independent of the bough. What

can be the object of this appendage no one knows, and there is no purpose that it can even be imagined to fulfill, except perhaps that it may serve as a conductor. Like many other pensile nests, it is placed at a low elevation, and hung over water. Sometimes, however, it is found in a forest where no stream runs, but even in such a case it is suspended not many feet from the ground, though high enough to guard it against the attacks of any ordinary foe. The materials of which the nest is made are the delicate inner bark of the gum-tree, together with mosses, and the soft down obtained from the tree-fern. These substances are interwoven with tough spiders'-web, which has the effect of binding them firmly together. This remarkable nest is mentioned in the present place because its peculiar shape bears some resemblance to certain pensile nests formed by the humming-birds, and which will presently be described.

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The bird itself is a lively and amusing little being, not only active on the wing, but singularly bold and confiding in character, betraying little fear of man, and even entering houses when engaged in chasing insects. These attributes, however, entirely disappear during the breeding season, when the little bird becomes as shy, as suspicious, and as timid as it was formerly bold and confiding. It can not endure that a human being should even approach its nest, and in order to draw off his attention, acts after the manner of the lapwing, and by feigning lameness endeavors to decoy the intruder in another direction. The Whiteshafted Fantail rears at least two broods in a season, and has occasionally been known to produce a third. There are only two young in each brood, so that the parents are not subject to very hard work when rearing their offspring.

These birds are generally seen in pairs, but are not gregarious, and, as far as is known, they are permanent residents in Australia, merely shifting their quarters at the different seasons.

CHAPTER XIII.

PENSILE BIRDS (Continued).

American Pensile Birds. Humming-birds, and the general Structure of their Nests. The LITTLE HERMIT, its Color, Habits, and Nest.-The GRAY-THROATED HERMIT and its Hardihood.-The PIGMY HERMIT and its Seed-nest.-The LONGTAILED HUMMING-BIRD.-Mode of building its Nest.-The WHITE-SIDED HILL STAR. Curious Method of suspending its Nest. The SAPPHO COMET. - The CHIMBORAZIAN HILL STAR.-Curious Locality.-Its Habits, Food, and Nest.The SAWBILL and its singular Nest.-Habits of the Sawbill.-The BRAZILIAN WOOD NYMPH.-Use made of its Plumage and its Nest.-The RUBY AND TOPAZ HUMMING-BIRD.-Stuffed Skins.-The AZURE CŒREBA, its Color, Nest, and Habits.-The BALTIMORE ORIOLE.-Reason for its Name.-Its beautiful Nest, and curious Choice of Materials.-Familiarity of the Baltimore Oriole.-The ORCHARD ORIOLE, OF BOB-O'-LINK.-Various Forms of Nest.-Why called Orchard Oriole. -The CRESTED CASSIQUE, its Size, Form, and Colors.—Its remarkable Nest.Difficulty of obtaining Nests.-The GREAT-CRESTED FLY-CATCHER, and its use of Serpent-sloughs. The RED-EYED FLY-CATCHER, WHIP-TOM-KELLY. - Low Elevation of its Nest.-The WHITE-EYED FLY-CATCHER, its Nest, and Fondness for the Prickly Vine.-The PRAIRIE WARBLER, its Habits and Nest.—The PINECREEPING WARBLER.-The Asiatic Pensiles.-The BAYA SPARROW.-Its Color and Social Habits.-Singular Form of the Nest.

HAVING now taken a cursory glance at the pensile nests constructed by the feathered inhabitants of Africa and Australia, we again cross the sea and come to America. There are many pensile builders among American birds, and chief among them are the exquisite little creatures called the HUMMING-BIRDS, which are peculiar to America and her islands.

Among the multitudinous species of this wonderful group of birds are very many examples of pensile nests, that mode of structure being, indeed, the rule, and any other the exception. As is the case with the nests of the Australian birds, some are suspended from twigs, others from rocks, and others again from leaves, the last-mentioned plan being the most common. It is evident that, in order to enable a nest to be fastened to a leaf, some very tenacious substance must be employed; and this is found in the webs of various spiders, some of which are of wonderful strength and elasticity-as strong, indeed, as the silken lines of our well-known brown-tailed moth, which, though tightly

stretched, can be pulled without breaking, and spring back to their former position like a harp-string. There is also a great variety in spiders' webs, so that the birds can procure at will the long elastic threads with which the materials of the nest can be tied together, or the soft felt-like substances with which the moss, bark, and fibres can be interwoven, so as to form a firm and wetresisting mass.

Our first example of the pensile Humming-birds is the beautiful species called the LITTLE HERMIT (Phaethornis eremita), a bird which is known by the warm ruddy color of the under parts, and the black crescent on the breast. There are many species of Hermit Humming-birds inhabiting Venezuela and the Caraccas, and choosing those districts where the flora is most