HONEYSUCKERS AND TAILOR-BIRDS 133 



in which one may not have the pleasure of watch- 

 ing their nesting habits, and, owing to their wonder- 

 ful confidence, the nests are often placed so as to 

 give great facilities for their close observation. Birds 

 in India are so little liable to human interference 

 that, in cases in which they construct their nests 

 so as to provide special security from the attacks 

 of the lower animals, they are often very reckless 

 in their choice of sites. Since the nests of honey- 

 suckers are suspended from the ends of pliant leaves 

 or very slender and flexible twigs, there is little 

 chance of their being successfully invaded by any 

 intruders except insects, and hence, so long as the 

 birds can find a convenient place, they do not seem 

 to care how public it may be. In the last winter 

 I was in Calcutta, a pair built in a clump of Areca 

 lutescens at the side of a short flight of steps leading 

 from the verandah on the south side of my house 

 into the garden below. The nest was attached to 

 the pinnae of a leaf arching over the steps, so as 

 to be quite visible to any one seated at the table 

 of the dining-room, and so low down that, in going 

 to and from the garden, it was necessary to stoop 

 in order to avoid knocking up against it. As a 

 rule, the nests hang freely, suspended by a sort of 

 cord, often consisting in greater part of spiders' 

 web. The cord ends below in a fibrous bag with 

 an opening, situated towards the upper part of 

 one side, and surmounted by a projecting cornice. 



