460 



ANIMAL LIFE-HISTORIES 



among grass, and makes a sort of awning by sewing together 

 the leaves and stems above it. This bird too is said to make a 

 knot at the end of its thread. 



The nests of a good many birds are plastic structures made 

 from earth or clay, with which bits of other material may be 



mixed. That of the Common Fla- 

 mingo (P hoenicopterus roseus, fig. 982) 

 is built on the ground, and shaped 

 like a broadly truncated cone, upon 

 which the bird sits with its long legs 

 folded up in an uncomfortable-looking 

 position. Chapman and Buck (in 

 Wild Spain} give the following in- 

 teresting description: "On reaching 

 the spot we found a perfect mass of 

 nests. The low, flat mud plateau was 

 crowded with them as thickly as its 

 space permitted. These nests had 

 little or no height above the flat sur- 

 face of the mud some were raised 

 an inch or two, a few might be five 

 or six inches in height; but the ma- 

 jority were merely circular bulwarks of 

 mud barely raised above the general 

 level, and having the impression of 

 the bird's legs distinctly marked upon 

 them. The general aspect of the 

 plateau was not unlike a large table 

 covered with plates. In the centre 

 was a deep hole full of muddy water, 

 which, from the gouged appearance 

 of its sides, appeared to be used as 

 a reservoir for nest-making materials. 



Scattered all round this main colony were numerous single nests, 

 rising out of the water and evidently built up from the bottom. 

 Here and there two or three of these were joined together 'semi- 

 detached ', so to speak : these separate nests stood six or eight 

 inches above water-level, and as the depth was rather over a foot, 

 the total height of the nests would be some two feet or there- 

 abouts, and their width across the hollow top some fifteen inches." 



r \ 



Fig. 981. Nest and Young of Tailor- Bird 

 (Orthotomus sutorius] 



