36 OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. 



The nests are beautifully woven, of very tough palm leaf 

 shreds and grass stems, in shape like tall vases, bulging 

 at the bottom to give room for the eggs and young birds, 

 and with an entrance at the side near the top. We found 

 still another instance of the unusual ability of these birds 

 to adapt themselves to changing conditions. Those nests 

 which were already deserted or with young ready to fly had 

 simple rounded tops arching over to protect the entrance 



FIG. 17. VENEZUELAN TREE PORCUPINE. 



from the sun; but in the nests which were in process of con- 

 struction, now at the beginning of the rainy season in early 

 April, there appeared an additional chamber with a dense 

 roof of thatch, in which one of the parents, the male at least 

 in one case, passed the nights, safe from the torrents of 

 sudden rain. 



Another larger species of Cassique, 150 dull green in color, 

 built solitary nests, three feet or more in length, but seldom 

 near the homes of men or wasps. Here and there in the 



