230 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 
or twenty feet from he"erodnd are often only two 
or three feet from it when finished, and a thorough 
soaking by a heavy rain will sometimes weigh them 
down until they actually touch. They are more or 
less oval or cylindrical in shape, and commonly 
about two feet long by twelve or fifteen inches in 
diameter, and contain from a peck to a bushel of 
twigs and thorns. The nest-cavity within is small 
in proportion to the size of the nest, and occupies its 
upper part. It is reached by a more or less direct 
passage-way from below, the external opening being 
very nearly at the lowest part of the nest, though 
sometimes a little shelf, or even a pocket, is built on 
to the side, forming a resting-place in front of the 
door. 
“The nests vary interminably in size and shape, 
but are pretty constant in the material used; this 
being almost always irregular and thorny twigs of 
various trees growing in the neighbourhood, while 
the interior is formed of less thorny twigs and with 
some wool and hair. Usually, also, if the material 
be at hand, a quantity of old dry horse-droppings is 
placed loosely on the top of the nest, and gradually 
becomes felted into it, rendering it more nearly 
waterproof. In place of this I have frequently found 
quantities of broken straw, weed-stalks, grass, and 
even chips; all doubtless collected from the ridges 
of drift which the last overflow of the river had left 
near at hand. So compactly is the whole nest built, 
that it often lasts more than one year, and may 
sometimes serve the same pair two successive 
