118 NEWS FROM THE BIRDS. 



and made firm witli mud. It is about the 

 shape and size of an ordinary cocoanut. It 

 is closed all around and above, but a small 

 hole is left at the side for a doorway, usually 

 nearest the top, though sometimes, strange to 

 say, nearest the bottom. Notice how curious. 

 The upper edge of this door-Avay projects over 

 the lower edge like a penthouse, so that the 

 rain can not enter. What a cunning contri- 

 vance ! The hole is sometimes so beset with 

 down that it is closed up, though, of course, 

 the birds can slip in and out by pressing the 

 down apart. 



The nest is lined with fine soft grass and 

 sometimes with feathers. Do not the little 

 ones have a cozy room to sleep in until they 

 are able to venture out into the wide, wide 

 world ? When the w^alls of the little house 

 become thoroughly dried they are so strong 

 that they resist all kinds of weather, and they 

 are bound so firmly to the adjacent culms that 

 they can not be broken loose by any stress of 

 wind. When built near the ocean these nests 

 are placed above the reach of the highest 

 tides. Six eggs of a delicate dark fawn color 

 decorate the bottom of the globular dwelling. 



When nervous or frightened, the marsh 

 wren presents a really comical appearance. 



