TAILOR-BIRDS. 309 



the chief food of the camelopard ; for the instinct of the birds 

 seems to have pointed out to them that it is peculiarly adapted 

 for the purpose, as its smooth and polished bark effectually 

 secures them from the attack of many enemies, who, could they 

 but ascend the trunk, would be but too happy to suck the eggs 

 and destroy the young. 



The Tailor Bird and its Nest. 



The art of sewing is considered as one of the oldest inventions 

 of man ; but long before a human artist ever thought of using 

 needle and thread, the birds had instinctively been taught the 

 virtues of a fibre thrust through holes. Thus the Sylvia Cysti- 

 cola, or fan-tailed "war bier of Italy, constructs its nest among 

 sedges and reeds, which it unites together by real stitches ; and 

 the edge of each leaf is pierced by this tailor-bird with minute 

 holes, through which it passes threads formed of spiders' web, 

 particularly from the silk of their egg-pouches. The tailor- 

 birds of India are still more expert sewers, for, choosing a con- 

 venient leaf (generally one which hangs from a slender twig), 

 they pierce a row of holes along each edge, using their beaks in 

 the same manner that a shoemaker uses his awl. When the 



