54 THE LIFE OF A BIRD. 



by Mr. Thompson,* a nest was placed in a carpen- 

 ter's loft ; the foundation consisted of large wood 

 shavings, of which the sides also were formed ; the 

 inner parts consisted of moss, beech-leaves, wool, 

 tufts of cow-hair, c., but the lining was of horse- 

 hair only. The mass of materials was of consi- 

 derable size, and the architect became well known 

 to the carpenter by making free with his pot of 

 grease. Moss, dead leaves, dried grass, with a 

 lining of hair, or sometimes a few feathers, are the 

 ordinary materials of the robin's nest. Mr. Gosse, 

 in his interesting volume on the birds of Jamaica, 

 gives an account of one of the most simple of 

 these nests of different materials, animal and 

 vegetable, that can be conceived. Observing 

 several small swallows flying about some cocoa-nut 

 palms, attention was drawn more closely to the 

 latter, and near their summits some masses of 

 cotton were seen projecting from some of the 

 upper parts of the tree, which were supposed to 

 be their nests. An opportunity of obtaining some 

 of these nests afterwards presented itself. Their 

 structure was simple, but highly curious. They 

 were placed in the hollow parts of the palms called 

 * Annals of Natural History. 



