TAILOR-BIRDS. 



499 



The Malurinae form a characteristic group of warbler-like birds, chiefly Austra- 

 lian, though a few species also are found in South Africa and Madagascar. Our cut 

 representing the emu-wren (Stipiturus malachurus), from Australia, illustrates one of 

 the smallest and most curious of the group, the tail-feathers being stiffened, and only 

 thinly supplied with barbs, so that they resemble emu-feathers ; the color of the bird 

 is brownish, with a blue throat, but many of the species are gorgeously colored, being 

 in that respect not inferior to the brightest cotingas or tanagers. Amytornis textilis, 

 with two allied species, also from Australia, belong here, wren-like birds of brown 

 plumage, with curious whitish longitudinal streaks. 



The bird to the left, in our next group, the faintail-warbler ( Cisticola cisticola), is 

 in Europe the only representative of the tribe of the grass-warblers, which to us is 



v 

 i / 



FIG. 244. Stipiturus malachurus, emu-wren. 



of great interest, as it contains some of the most skilled bird architects, among others 

 the remarkable tailor-birds. In his work on Indian birds' nests and eggs, Mr. A. Hume 

 gives a full account of the structure of the nesting habits of Sutoria sutoria, from 

 which we make the following selection : " The Indian tailor-bird breeds throughout 

 India and Burmah, alike in the plains and in the hills, up to an elevation of from 3,000 

 to 4,000 feet. The nest has been often described and figured, and, as is well known, 

 is a deep soft cup enclosed in leaves, which the bird sews together to form a recepta- 

 cle for it. I quote an exact description of a nest which I took at Bareilly, and which 

 was recorded on the spot : * Three of the long ovato-lanceolate leaves of the mango, 

 whose peduncles sprang from the same point, had been neatly drawn together with 

 gossamer threads run through the sides of the leaves and knotted outside, so as to 

 form a cavity like the end of a netted purse, with a wide slit on the side nearest the 



