BIRDS. 



321 



finished nest of the Goldfinch (Fig. 251), contrasted with the 

 coarser edifice of the Rook or the Magpie. 



But, regarded merely as a work of art, some of the nests 

 from foreign countries appear more ingenious and more 

 artistical, though of course not better adapted to the wants of 

 their respective occupants. Thus the nests of the Baya, a bird 

 of Hindostan, are formed of long grass woven together in the 

 shape of a bottle (Fig. 252), and suspended " to the extremity 

 of a flexible branch, the more effectually to secure the eggs 

 and young brood from serpents, monkeys, squirrels, and birds 

 of prey. These nests contain several apartments, appropriated 

 to different purposes."* The entrance is at the lower part, 

 so that the parent birds reach it only when on the wing. 



Another species, called with groat justice, the Tailor-bird 

 (Sylvia sutoria), collects from the cotton-plant, fibres of 



Fig. 252. NEST OF THE BAYA. Fig. 253. NEST OF THE TAILOR-BIRD. 



cotton, and with them sews two leaves together, the bill being 

 used as a needle. The nest is concealed in the space between 

 the two leaves {Fig. 253). 



* Forbes's Oriental Memoir?, vol. i. p. 48. 



