64 THE LIFE OF A BIRD. 



that this curious structure was finished in a few 

 weeks by a pair of birds, with no other imple- 

 ments than the bill and the claws, and he would 

 instantly be filled wiih profound astonishment. 

 And how would this emotion be heightened, when 

 he learned that the birds began to build it just in 

 time for incubation, that it was the first they had 

 ever made, and that they had therefore no expe- 

 rience of the days or weeks necessary for its 

 completion? If there be no ingenuity, no fore- 

 sight in the animal, there must be wisdom and 

 contrivance somewhere? 



And truly the object is one well worthy our 

 attentive contemplation, whether we regard the 

 materials, the implements for its construction, or 

 the difficulty of the task. That the architects of 

 such a structure are taught of God, is evidenced 

 in all these respects. Their constructive skill 

 will be now presented before us in a variety of 

 cases. The ingenuity displayed by the spotted 

 fly-catcher in the building of its home has often 

 been noticed. The materials are moss, roots, 

 stems of grass, hair, and feathers, out of which 

 the birds have to form a warm and comfortable 

 dwelling. It appears that the female is the 



