THE PINC-PINC. r 85 
may be remarked, however, that the cloth which it 
fabricates is not woven, but felted. 
“The nest of the pince-pinc,” says Vaillant, “is 
usually placed among prickly shrubs, particularly the 
mimosas, but sometimes on the extreme branches of 
trees. It is commonly very large, though some are 
larger than others ; but the difference is only in the 
external appearance ; in the interior they are almost 
of the same dimensions, namely, from three to four 
inches in diameter, while the circumference of the 
exterior is often more than a foot. As the nest is 
wholly composed of the down of plants, it is either 
of a snowy whiteness or of a brownish colour, ac- 
cording to the quality of the down which is produced 
by the neighbouring shrubs. On the outside it ap- 
pears to be constructed in an irregular and clumsy 
manner, according to the situation of the branches 
upon which it is built, and to which it is so firmly at- 
tached, part of them passing through its texture, that 
it is impossible to remove it without leaving one half 
behind. If, however, the nest have the appearance 
on the outside of being badly made, we shall be the 
more surprised, on looking into the interior, that so 
small a creature, without other instrument than its 
bill, its wings, and tail, could have wrought vegeta- 
ble down in such a manner as to render it as united 
and of as fine a texture as cloth, even of good qual- 
ity. The nest in question is entirely of a round 
form, has a narrow neck made in its upper part, by 
which means the bird glides into the interior. At 
the base of this corridor there is a niche that has 
the appearance of a small nest resting against the 
large one ; and at the Cape it is generally supposed 
that this niche was made expressly for the male to 
sit upon, in order to keep watch while the female is 
hatching her eggs, and that he may apprize her of 
danger when she is at the bottom of the nest and 
unable to observe an enemy on the outside. This 
idea, I must confess, is athe ingenious ; but I have 
