142 STRANGE DWELLINGS. 



Nymph {Thalurania glaucopis), a species which is perhaps more 

 persecuted than any other, its singular beauty causing its 

 plumage to be sought after, 



The feathers on the crown of the head and front of the throat 

 are of the most lovely azure, and are largely used by the 

 inmates of several convents at Rio Janeiro for the purpose 

 of being made into the beautiful feather flowers which the nuns 

 manufacture so skilfully. Thousands of these birds are slaugh- 

 tered merely for the crest and gorget, but so prolific are they, 

 and so ingeniously do they hide their nests, that the persecution 

 of many years has scarcely diminished their numbers. More- 

 over, fortunately for the preservation of the species, the colours 

 of the female are so dull and sober, that her feathers are of no 

 value, and she is allowed to escape the fate that befalls the 

 more brightly coloured male. It is a lively little bird, and 

 when alarmed utters a hurried cry, sounding like the word, 

 * Pip, pip, pip,' very sharply pronounced. 



The nest of the Brazilian Wood Nymph is exceedingly 

 pretty, and is hung to the tip of some delicate twig, generally 

 that of one of the creeping plants which trail their long stems 

 so luxuriantly over the branches of the great forest trees. The 

 walls of the nest are made of vegetable fibres, generally taken 

 from the fruit of some palm, and upon the outside are fastened 

 many patches of flat lichen, so that the whole nest, which 

 is very long in proportion to its width, may easily escape 

 detection. 



Two diff"erently-shaped specimens are given in the accom- 

 panying illustration, in order that they may be compared with 

 each other. 



The first in order is that of the Baltimore Oriole ( Yphantes 

 Baltimore)^ a pretty bird, coloured with orange and black in 

 bold contrast to each other. Its name is derived, not from 

 any particular locality, but from the orange and black of its 

 plumage, those being the heraldic colours of Lord Baltimore, 

 formerly proprietor of Baltimore. It does not receive the full 

 calouring until its third year, the orange hues being simply 



