THE MYRAPETRA. 285 



On looking at the exterior of the nest, our attention is at once 

 excited by the material of which it is made, and the vast number 

 of sharp tubercular projections which stud its surface. In color 

 it is dark, dull, blackish-brown, and its texture somewhat resem- 

 bles very rough papier-mache. On examining it with a pocket 

 magnifier a matted structure is plainly visible, as if it were made 

 of short vegetable fibres. This appearance accords with the ac- 

 counts of the natives, who say that it is made from the dung of 

 the capincha, one of the aquatic cavies of tropical America. 



The whole of the exterior is thickly studded with projections, 

 varying in size and shape, but being all of some sharpness at the 

 tip. These projections are comparatively few at the top of the 

 nest, becoming gradually more numerous as they approach the 

 bottom, until at last they are set so thickly that the finger can 

 scarcely be laid between them. 



The object of these projections is not ascertained. The nest 

 always hangs very low, seldom being more than three or four feet 

 from the ground, and some writers say that the office of the sharp 

 projections is to guard the nest from the attacks of the felidoe and 

 other honey and grub-loving mammalia. Such may indeed be 

 the true explanation, and indeed it is so obvious that no one could 

 avoid seeing it. But I very much doubt whether a far better ex- 

 planation is not in store, and I can not see why the Myrapetra 

 should stand in need of such protection, when the nest of the 

 Nectarinia, which is placed in precisely the same conditions, is 

 perfectly smooth and defenseless. 



One use of the projections is evidently for the double purpose 

 of concealing and protecting the entrance. On looking at the 

 nest from above, no entrance is visible, and it is not until after a 

 close examination that the openings are found. They are con- 

 cealed under a row of the projections, which overhang them like 

 the eaves of a house, and effectually keep off the rains which fall 

 in such heavy torrents during tropical storms. The material of 

 which these projections are made is the same as that of which the 

 walls of the nest are built, except that it is very much thicker and 

 harder, the various layers being hardly distinguishable, even with 

 a good magnifier. 



The interior of the nest is as remarkable as its exterior. 



When cut open longitudinally, an operation which was care- 

 fully performed by Mr. White, a very curious sight presents it- 

 self. The nest is filled with combs, all very much curved, and 



