NEST BUILDERS. 83 



flies out from under our feet, as it were, that we see 

 it and its pretty speckled eggs. 



In foreign countries nests are built in much the 

 same styles and for much the same purposes as here. 

 When the weather is warm, of course the nests need 

 not be so warmly built ; but wherever little naked birds 

 are born, shelter must be provided for them, and 

 skilful bills are cutting, weaving, plastering, or even 

 sewing to make a home for the coming young. " Sew- 

 ing } " you ask, " Can a bird sew } " Yes, and the bill 

 is its needle. The little bird who sews lives in India, 

 and is so famous for its skill that people call it the 

 Tailor-bird. It builds in the gardens, and several 

 people have written about it. Here is what one 

 gentleman says: "It makes its nest of cotton, wool, 

 and various other soft materials, and draws together 

 one leaf or more, generally two leaves, on each side 

 of the nest and stitches them together with cotton, 

 either woven by itself, or cotton thread picked up, 

 and after passing the thread through the leaf it makes 

 a knot at the end to fix it." 



