THE TAILOR-BIEDS 383 



In general the tropical woods and fields are by no means 

 so deficient in agreeable songsters as is commonly imagined ; and 

 while the Americans rejoice in the voices of the Banana Bird 

 {Icterus xanthornus), or of the Tryothorus platens, which is as 

 fond of the company of man as the latter of its lovely note, the 

 African and the Indian listen with delight to the tiny Senegalis 

 and Bengalis, which, like the canary-bird, belong to the exten- 

 sive and sprightly tribe of the finches. 



The wonderful pendulous nests of the American cassiques are 

 equalled, if not surpassed, by those of the Indian Baya. These 

 l)iids are found in most parts of Hindostan ; in shape they 

 resemble the sparrow, as also in the brown feathers of the back 

 ;ind wings ; the head and breast are of a bright yellow, and in 

 the rays of a tropical sun have a splendid appearance when 

 i]\ ing by thousands in the same grove. They make a chirping 

 noise, but have no song; they associate in large communities, and 

 cover clumps of palmyras, acacias, and date-trees with their 

 nests. These are formed in a very ingenious manner by long 

 grass woven together in the shape of a bottle, and suspended 

 by so slender a thread to the end of a flexible branch that 

 even the squirrel dare not venture his body on so fragile a 

 support, however his mouth may water at the eggs and prey 

 within. These nests contain several apartments, appropriated 

 to different purposes: in one the hen performs the office of 

 incubation ; another, consisting of a little thatched roof and 

 covering a perch without a bottom, is occupied by the male, 

 who cheers the female with his chirping note. The Hindoos 

 are very fond of these birds for their docility and sagacity; 

 when young, they teach them to fetch and carry, and at the 

 time the young women resort to the public fountains their 

 lovers instruct the baya to pluck the tica or golden ornament 

 from the forehead of their favourite and bring it to their 

 master. 



The Tailor-bird of Hindostan {Sylvia sutoria) is equally 

 curious in the structure of its nest, and far superior in the 

 elegance and variety of its plumage, which in the male glows 

 with the varied tints of the colibri. The little artist first 

 selects a plant with large leaves and then gathers cotton 



