A WELL-BUILT HOUSE 



stops working on Sunday, and always turns the opening of 

 its nest towards the east. 



" I soon found out that there was no foundation for the 

 first statement," says Burmeister, "and I succeeded in con- 

 vincing several of the natives of this. The belief that it 

 does no work on Sunday arises from the rapidity with which 

 it performs its task. If this be commenced in the early part 

 of the week, it is sure to be finished before the following 

 Sunday. 



"The nest is wonderful, if we consider what a slender little 

 bird it is that makes it. It is usually placed on a horizontal 

 bough not less than three inches in thickness , very rarely it 

 may be seen on a roof, a balcony, the cross of a steeple, etc. 

 The cock and hen work in company. They begin by spreading 

 a layer of clay softened by the rains. They make little balls 

 of it and convey them to the tree, where they spread them out 

 with the aid of beak and claws. When the bed of clay is about 

 nine or ten inches across, they make a rim all round it, which 

 slopes slightly outwards. This border is not more than two 

 and a half inches in height, but it is more elevated at the 

 ends than in the middle, and is fashioned in such a way that 

 the surface is concave." As soon as the ledge is dry the 

 birds place another on the top of it, similar to the first, but 

 inclined a little inwards, and this is repeated until the dome 

 is completed. A high, narrow opening with a curved margin 

 is left in one side of the edifice; this doorway is usually 

 about four inches high and little more than two inches wide. 

 When the structure is finished it looks rather like a small 

 oven, and weighs about nine pounds. The wall on the right 

 of the opening curves inward, and is continued in the form of 

 a partition from floor to dome. A second opening placed 

 high up at the inner end of the partition leads into an inner 

 chamber, where the true nest of dry grass, feathers, cotton, 



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