THEIR REPRODUCTION (NESTS) 249 



made by the Humming-Birds — tiny structures 

 not a few of them, little bigger than a good- 

 sized thimble, yet perfectly finished and a model 

 of neatness. All the species, so far as is known, 

 build on one general model — an open cup- 

 shaped structure — although the manner in which 

 they are attached to the various objects that sup- 

 port them differs considerably. The materials 

 are such that admit of easy and effectual felt- 

 ing together — lichens, vegetable downs, small 

 feathers, wool, hair, moss, and spiders' webs. 

 In most cases this nest is attached to the upper 

 surface of a branch ; in other cases the nest is 

 horn-shaped, and fastened to the surface or 

 point of some ribbon-like leaf, or placed in the 

 centre of a bunch of leaves. More rarely the 

 purse-shaped nest is attached to a cliff. Gould, 

 who made this family an object of very careful 

 study and published a magnificent monograph 

 of the species, asserted that in some cases the 

 pensile nests were weighted with a little stone 

 or piece of earth should one side of the structure 

 be heavier than the other, in order to ensure 

 equilibrium. One very striking feature in Hum- 

 ming-Birds' nests is the manner in which they 

 are made to assimilate with surrounding objects, 

 by a garniture of lichens, spiders' webs, and so 



