148 



VEKTEBRATA : AYES OR BIRDS. 



weave a nest of fibi'ous materials as those from the stalks 

 of the silkweeds suspending the structure from the 

 outermost twigs of the elm or other trees, where it swings 

 secure from nearly all enemies. And others, as the Tailor- 

 bird of India, convert the cotton of the cotton-tree into 

 threads, and with these form a nest by sewing together 

 living leaves (Fig. 1G7). 



FIG. 167. 



FIG. 166. 



Humming-Bird's Nest. 



Nest of Tailor-Bird, 

 Sylvia sutoria, of the East Indies. 



Their ability to anticipate atmospheric changes is truly 

 wonderful, and caused the ancients to attribute to birds 

 the power of divination. 



The longevity of birds is regarded as about ten times 

 as great as the time which they require to come to full 

 growth. Domestic fowls live to the age of twenty years ; 

 parrots, thirty years ; geese, fifty ; while swans, ravens, 

 and eagles are said to live a century. 



