274 



Life and Immortality. 



LONG-BILLED MARSH WRENS. 

 Nest Placed Out of the Reach of Tides. 



the opening, and this was continued within, forming a thick 

 bedding of the softest, fluffiest nature, of which the most 

 voluptuous sybarite might envy its fortunate possessor. 



But the little Golden-crowned Kinglet, a mere mite of flesh 

 and feathers, but with a great deal of spirit, builds a much 

 handsomer nest. It is the perfection of symmetry. Man 

 could not make with all the applicances at his command any 

 thing more nearly globular. But its beauty ! It looks like 

 a ball of green moss, the delicate patches of moss being so 

 artfully arranged as to completely hide the dry stems of 

 grasses that constitute the walls. No moss ever spread itself 

 over the ground, or over a stump or tree-trunk, more evenly. 

 When it is known that this Kinglet builds its nest among the 

 slender feathered branches of the hemlock spruce, there is 

 manifestly a reason for the fern-like tracery upon the exterior, 



