150 



VERTEBRATA. 



abovi- aiul whito iK-iu-atli ; lop of the heiul bright red. This bird more than an}' otlier ap- 

 proaches liuiiian art in building its nest; it usually picks up the dead leaf of a tree and regu- 

 larly sews it to a living leaf by the edges, thus forming a sort of pendulous pouch, which is of 

 course supported by the foot-sUilk of the leaf which is still attaehe<l to the parent tree. In some 

 cases liowever, it employs two contiguous living leaves. The thread used in this operation is in 

 some cxses spun from raw cotton by the bird, in others common cotton thread is made use of, 

 and some nests exhibit both these materials. The pouch thus formed is left open at the top, and 

 the bottom is occupied by the nest itself, which is usually composed of cotton and flax, neatly 

 woven together, and lined with horse-hair. In these ingenious little cradles the Tailor-Birds lay 

 their eggs and bring up their young, secure — through the slendcrness of their communication with 

 the tree that supports them — from the attacks of the monkeys, snakes, and other enemies, who 

 would otherwise frequently destroy their hopes. Their food consists of insects, which thev cap- 

 ture either upon the bark and leaves of trees, or upon the ground. There are still other species. 





^l^iii'/i:^ 



THE PINC-PINC. 



Genus DRYMOICA : Drymoica.—T\xh includes the Pinc-Pinc, D. textrix, found in Southern 

 Africa ; it is about the size of a wren, which it resembles in its constant activity and the inces- 

 sant jerkmg of its tail, at the same time crying jomc, pine, pine; it is black and brown above, and 

 brown and red below ; its nest is externally more than a foot in diameter, consisting of the woolly 

 parts of plants woven compactly together, with an opening in the middle, three inches in width. 



