INDUSTRIES OF ANIMALS. 



601 



of their beaks, one of these pretty nests. The iinfortunate couple 

 are obliged to recommence their task, and if this accident hap- 

 pens two or three times to the same household, it can easily be 

 imagined that, discouraged and depressed by the advancing sea- 

 son, they hasten to build a shelter anyhow, only doing what is 

 indispensable, and neglecting perfection. 



The Art of Sewing among Birds. There are birds which 

 have succeeded in solving a remarkable difficulty. Sewing seems 



Fig. 5. The Tailor Bird and its Nest. 



SO ingenious an art that it must be reserved for the human species- 

 alone. Yet the tailor bird, the Orthotomus longicauda, and other 

 species possess the elements of it. They place their nests in a 

 large leaf which they prepare to this end. With their beaks they 

 pierce two rows of holes along the two edges of the leaf ; they 

 then pass a stout thread from one side to the other alternately. 

 With this leaf, at first flat, they form a horn in which they weave- 



