EDIFICATION. 71 



Externally it is made up with bits of decayed 

 bark, minute chips and fragments of vegetables, 

 fibres, and lichen, the inside lining being com- 

 posed of soft down or vegetable wool. 



A most beautiful nest of an unknown species 

 we have lately examined; it was suspended at 

 the end of a slender twig, with the footstalks 

 of the leaves passing through its sides, and 

 shrouded by leaves above. It consisted entirely 

 of the finest silky down or cotton, of a most de- 

 licate straw-yellow, felted into a mass, forming 

 a structure at once light, soft, and compact. 

 This nest must have rocked to and fro with 

 every breath of air. 



In many cases the lining of the nests assumes 

 an almost spongelike appearance, and the nest 

 itself seems a mere accidental excrescence on a 

 branch, the bark of the latter, and the outer 

 coating of the former assimilating in colour and 

 general characters. 



Audubon, speaking of the TEOCHILUS COLTJ- 

 BEIS, says, " The nest of this Humming-bird is 

 of the most delicate nature, the external parts 

 being formed of a light-grey lichen, found on the 

 branches of trees or on decayed fence-rails, and 

 so neatly arranged round the whole nest, as well 

 as to some distance from the spot where it is 

 attached, as to seem part of the branch or stem 

 itself. These little pieces of lichen are glued 

 together with the saliva of the bird. The next 

 coating consists of cottony substance, and the 



