STOEIES ABOUT BIRDS. 833 



confined for a long time in one of the dismal 

 dungeons of Prussia, formed a strong attach- 

 ment to a spider which had woven a web in 

 one corner of the room. The spider was 

 the only friend he had in the prison. He 

 spent hours in the company of that insect ; and 

 when, at length, the jailer destroyed the web, 

 the Baron, according to his own story, was 

 overwhelmed with grief 



I must tell you something about the bottle- 

 nested sparrow. This bird does not live in our 

 country. His home is in Hindoostan and in 

 that vicinity. He builds a very curious nest, 

 and has some exceedingly singular habits. He 

 prefers to build his nest on the highest tree 

 he can find — if it should overhang a well, or a 

 small stream, all the better. The nest is made 

 of grass, which the bird weaves like cloth, and 

 shapes like a bottle, hanging it firmly on the 

 branches, but so that it will rock with the 

 wind. It is always built with the mouth 

 downward, so as to secure it from the birds of 

 prey. There is another curious thing about it. 

 Those who have examined it tell us that it con- 

 sists of two or three different chambers, which 

 are used for different purposes. Some people 

 say that this bird catches glow-worms, and con- 

 fines them in his nest, so as to afford the family 



