Birds of Gazaland. 43 



sometimes as little as eighteen inches from the ground, and 

 I have so far found only one placed as high as six feet. This 

 particular nest was further notable for the fact that it had 

 been successfully and fairly firmly attached to the drooping 

 end of a long slippery Dracana-\&cd, and that its " tail/' 

 instead of proceeding as usual from below the opening, was 

 attached to one side of the nest and thence thrown loosely over 

 another leaf, thus taking some of the weight of the nest off 

 its somewhat insecure attachment and pointing to consider- 

 able intelHgencc and adaptability on the part of the bird. 

 This tail, when pi'csent, may be composed of grass-blades, 

 twigs, roots, moss, leaves, strips of bark, or two or more of 

 these materials combined, and varies a good deal in length, 

 bulk, and construction, as do also the strips of material 

 (usually but not always long, and composed as a rule of moss) 

 which attach the nest to the twig. The materials employed 

 for the fabric in general include small twigs and grasses, 

 lichen, moss, leaves (usually of a smilax, Behnia reticulata) , 

 dry stems of ''false maiden-hair" {Thalictrum rhijncho- 

 carpum), and other hei'baceous plants and down. Occasion- 

 ally this down, consisting in Chirinda nearly always of the 

 pappi of a fine latex-yielding liana, Oncinotis chirindica 

 (Moore), is the chief material employed, being then merely 

 braced externally with a thin network of some of the other 

 materials mentioned, but sometimes moss (especially a 

 luxuriant Madotheca common on tree-trunks) is the main 

 material used, and at other times dry leaves, which are in 

 any case very generally employed to support the cup. The 

 i^e/mi«-leaves and this lining of down almost invariably 

 characterize such nests of the bird as are found in Chirinda 

 and Chipete, the other materials varying a good deal; cob- 

 webs are used, but not to a great extent. The nest proper 

 from dome to bottom of cup (measured externally) hardly 

 exceeds 3'6 or 4 inches in depth, but the attachment may 

 sometimes measure 7 and the tail 10 inches or a foot. The 

 female will occasionally sit very steadfastly, but as a general 

 rule I find that she slips quietly down into the undergrowth 

 t)u my near approach and returns equally stealthily in from 



