A " COMMON" NEST. 239 



bird on the nest, but that they frequently came in 

 great numbers perching around it, and were par- 

 ticularly noisy. He examined the nest to which 

 his informant alluded ; it was built upon a cocoa- 

 nut-tree, about thirty feet from the ground, and 

 the tree being about forty feet from the dwelling- 

 house door, an excellent opportunity was thus 

 afforded to watch their habits. The result was, 

 that there never did appear to be more than one 

 bird in the nest during the day, but on sundry 

 occasions, especially mornings and afternoons, they 

 came in flocks of from twenty to thirty, alighting 

 on the tree, and crowding around the nest, making 

 a considerable noise, on which it was observed that 

 the occupier of the nest at the time quitted her 

 place, but whether from fear, or in order to give 

 place to others, could not be ascertained most 

 probably the former. Mr. Kirk never saw more 

 than one bird sitting in the nest at a time, except 

 during these turbulent visits, and then it was quite 

 impossible to tell how many might have been in it. 

 The branches of the cocoa-nut-palm spring from the 

 stem in a cluster ascending at an angle of from 45 

 to 50, forming very deep and irregular interstices 

 between the branches, and in one of these the nest 



