76 THE ARCHITECTURE OF BIRDS. 



in their colours. I have a number of their nests 

 now before me, all completed and with eggs. One 

 of these, the neatest, is in the form of a cylinder, of 

 five inches diameter, and seven inches in depth, 

 rounded at bottom. The opening at. top is narrowed 



Baltimore Starling (Icterus Baltimore) and Nest. 



by a horizontal covering to two inches and a half in 

 diameter. The materials are flax, hemp, tow, hair, 

 and wool, woven into a complete cloth, the whole 

 tightly sewed through and through with long horse- 

 hairs, several of which measure two feet in length. 

 The bottom is composed of thick tufts of cowhair, 

 sewed also with strong horsehair. This nest was 



