THE IDYLL OF THE BLOSSOM-BIRDS 97 



such invitation, and never did dog (or boy) look 

 more sheepish than when the "wounded" bird gave 

 an amiable "cheep," shook its little tail, and flew 

 quickly to the shelter of a branch. Sometimes the 

 birds make this nest precaution a matter of common 

 concern. I remember an occasion when the fright 

 of some young Yellow-tufts caused all their relatives 

 in the vicinity to rally to the defence. The whole 

 company raised a terrific hue and cry, and at least 

 three of the birds gave superb exhibitions of feign- 

 ing to be disabled. This community of interest, by 

 the way, is much in evidence among those common 

 Honeyeaters known as Soldier-Birds, and also 

 among the beautiful Regent Honeyeaters. 



As a matter of course, just as there are wide 

 variations in the size and color of Australia's Honey- 

 Birds, so are there wide variations, if not broad dis- 

 tinctions, in the architecture of their nests. These 

 range from frail platforms of sticks, such as are 

 run together by the Wattle-Birds, past the fibrous 

 home of the Soldier-Bird and the bark nest of the 

 Regent Honeyeater, to the dainty, swinging cradles 

 of the smaller species. It is all quite natural. Apart 

 from the fact that their bills are too heavy for 

 the construction of artistic nests, the larger Honey- 

 eaters seem much more careless than such, for 

 instance, as the Black-cap and the Yellow-tuft. Is 

 it a matter of evolution following upon necessity for 

 protection? Probably the ancestor of the "tribe" 

 was content with a scanty platform of sticks such 

 as is still favored by the Wattle-Bird. Then, as the 

 ages rolled on and the family branches spread wider 

 and wider, aesthetic sense developed along with the 



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