200 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 



Sonnerat, in his " Voyage to India," speaks of a Cape Tit, the 

 nest of which is in the form of a bottle, and composed of cotton. 

 While the female hatches the eggs, the male, like a true sentinel, 

 maintains a strict watch on a specially-formed resting-place, 

 built on one of the sides. Finally, for ingenious construc- 

 tion, instigated by affection for its progeny, there is nothing 

 to compare to the work of the Republican (Fig. 79). This little 

 bird of the Cape, which is about the size of a Sparrow, which it 

 much resembles, lives in numerous families, that unite in forming 

 immense colonies. Their dwellings have the appearance of a 

 circular framework surrounding the trunk of some large tree, 

 as represented beneath. Levaillant counted as many as three 

 hundred cells, which indicate that it is inhabited by six hundred 



Fig. 78. 



i-ig. 79. 



birds. These nests are so heavy that Levaillant was compelled 

 to employ a cart with many men in transporting one of their 

 colonies. At a distance they resemble great roofs attached to the 

 trunks or branches of trees, on which hundreds of birds sport and 

 enjoy themselves. Further, the Oriole suspends its basket-like 

 nest by a twig at the extremity of a flexible branch, placing it 

 thus beyond the reach of any prowling four-footed ravisher. The 

 Magpie selects the topmost fork of the loftiest trees. Again, the 

 nest of the esculent Eastern Swallow, the one so much sought 

 after by gourmands, hangs from those cliffs washed by the sea, 



