THE PERCHING BIRDS 



begin building in the autumn, and the work is resumed during the winter whenever 

 there is a spell of mild, wet weather; the material used being mud, with the addi- 

 tion of horsehair or fibrous roots, which make the structure harder, and prevent it 

 from cracking. When finished, the structure is shaped outwardly like a baker's 

 oven, only with a deeper and narrower entrance. It is always placed very conspicu- 

 ously, and with the entrance facing a building if one be near, or, if at the roadside, 



BROWN-FRONTED SPINE TAII, AND RED OVEN BIRD. 



(One-half natural size.) 



looking toward the road. When the structure has assumed the globular form, with 

 only a narrow opening, the wall on one side is curved inward, reaching from the 

 floor to the dome, and at the inner extremity an aperture is left to admit the bird to 

 the interior, or second chamber, in which the eggs are laid. The interior is lined 

 with dry and soft grass, upon which five white pear-shaped eggs are laid. The 

 oven is a foot or more in diameter, and is sometimes very massive, weighing eight 



