THE PINOPINC. 85 



may be remarked, however, that the cloth which it 

 fabricates is not woven, but felted. 



" The nest of the pine-pine," 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 rather ingenious ; but I have 

 H 



