68 THE ARCHITECTURE OF BIRDS. 
Another of these gregarious African birds is the 
pensile grosbeak (Lozia pensilis), which is about the 
size of a house-sparrow, and makes a basket-nest of 
straw and reeds, interwoven into the shape of a bag, 
with the entrance below, while it is fastened above 
to the twig of some tree, chiefly such as grow on 
the borders of streams. On one side of this, with- 
in, is the true nest. The bird does not build a dis- 
tinct nest every year, but fastens a new one to the 
lower end of the old, and as many as five may thus 
be seen, one hanging from another. From five to 
six hundred such nests have been observed crowd- 
ed upon one tree. 

* Nests of the Pensile Grosbeak (Lozia pensilis). 
A living author of reputation thus describes these 
nests ; but we must premise that we do not coincide 
with his opinion of the structure being devised for 
defence: “Several varieties of the finch tribe, in 
South Africa, suspend their nests from the branches 
