112 MATESHIP WITH BIRDS 



deserted homes were collected at the end of the 

 Spring. Examination of the material proved what 

 I had already suspected by seeing the strong-billed 

 Tits hammering at the green bark of trees, that the 

 nests are constructed almost wholly of the yellowish, 

 fibrous bark underlying the rougher exterior of the 

 limbs. This is beaten into fine threads, and bound 

 tightly with the filmy substance from cocoons, and, 

 occasionally, lichen from the old "snake" fences. Of 

 grass little is used just a dozen or so fine bents at 

 the bottom of the nest. 



How curious it is that the Shrike-Tits, for all 

 their finely-safe nesting sites, occasionally fail to 

 bring forth a brood! What persuades the birds 

 sometimes to desert a completed nest for days at a 

 stretch is hard to reason out. Nor is it less 

 difficult to account for some of their dwellings hav- 

 ing a ragged hole torn in one side. The only thief 

 I ever saw at a Shrike-Tit's nest was an enterpris- 

 ing Honeyeater, which, when I was coming down 

 after vainly endeavoring to peep into a tree-top 

 home, flitted up and stole some of the soft material, 

 leaving me to bear the blame. 



Shrike-Tits are usually very suspicious when 

 building, and there is a danger of them deserting 

 a nest if you watch the constructive operations too 

 closely. In one case where this happened, my clum- 

 siness was partly excused by the suspicion that the 

 female did not approve of the site chosen. She took 

 no active part in the nest-construction for a full 

 half-hour after I first located the birds. Mean- 

 while, the industrious male bird hammered away 

 at the bark of green trees, and wove the material 



