346 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



period when the corn is ripe ; indeed, her appearance abroad 

 with her young is one of the signs they have for knowing when 

 it ought to be so. As that is about the end of April, the time is 

 between two and three months. She is said sometimes to hatch 

 two eggs, and when the young of these are full fledged, other two 

 are just out of the egg-shells ; she then leaves the nest with the 

 two elder, the orifice is again plastered up, and both male and fe- 

 male attend to the wants of the young which are left." 



In this curious history of bird architecture, two points are pe- 

 culiarly interesting, one being the reservation of a higher point 

 whereto the bird may fly in case of invasion, and the other the 

 fact that two broods of young can be in the nest at one time. 



Passing from the birds which build with mud, we now come 

 to those which use vegetable substances in their habitations. As 

 examples of such architecture, we shall select the nests of those 

 birds which are able to construct domed habitations, as well as 

 the remarkable structures which are built by the Beaver birds of 

 Australia. 



The Long-tailed Titmouse (Parus caudatus) constructs a nest 

 which is quite as wonderful in its way as the pensile home of the 

 harvest-mouse. 



This pretty little bird is very plentiful in England, and, owing 

 to its habit of associating in little flocks of ten or twelve in num- 

 ber, and the exceeding restlessness of its character, is very familiar 

 to all observers of nature. These flocks generally consist of the 

 parent and their offspring, for the little creature is exceedingly 

 prolific, laying a vast quantity of tiny eggs in its warm nest, and 

 rearing most of the young to maturity. This is a bird which 

 ought to be cherished by all possessors of fields or gardens, for 

 there is scarcely a more determined enemy to the many noxious 

 insects which destroy the fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Fortu- 

 nately for ourselves, the Long-tailed Titmouse is very fond of the 

 various saw-flies that work such mischief among our fruit-trees, 

 and often lay waste whole acres of gooseberries, and it is no ex- 

 aggeration to say that to a possessor of an orchard, or a fruit-gar- 

 den of any kind, every Long-tailed Titmouse is well worth its lit- 

 tle weight in gold. 



"Were it only for the beauty and elegance of its form, no one 

 who had an eye for living art could kill the pretty little bird, 



