THE HANGING WOODPECKER. 197 



Formation of their hanging nests. 



nests, in great abundance, inhabited by birds of 

 the most delightful plumage. 



" The nest is usually formed in this manner: 

 when the time of incubation approaches they fly 

 busily about in quest of a kind of moss, called 

 by the English inhabitants of those countries 

 ' old man's beard.' It is a fibrous substance, and 

 not very unlike hair, which bears being moulded 

 into any form, and suffers being glued together. 

 This, therefore, the little woodpecker, called by 

 the natives of Brasil the guiratemga, first glues 

 by some viscous substance gathered in the forest, 

 to the extremes! branch of a tree ; then building 

 downward, and still adding fresh materials to 

 those already procured, a nest is formed, that 

 depends, like a pouch, from the point of the 

 branch : the hole to enter at is on the side, and 

 all the interior parts are lined with the finer 

 fibres of the same substance which compose the 

 whole. 



" Such are the general contrivance of these 

 banging nests, which are made by some other 

 birds, with still superior art. A little bird of the 

 grosbeak kind, in the Philippine islands, makes 

 its nest in such a manner that there is no open- 

 ing but from the bottom. At the bottom the 

 bird enters, and goes up through a funnel, like a 

 chimney, till it comes to the real door of the 

 nest, which lies on one side, and only opens into 

 this funnel. 



ff Some birds glue their nests to the kaf of the 



