r48 STRANGE DWELLINGS, 



birds in the following year, and saves them the trouble of build- 

 ing entire nests of their own. Even the mammalia receive 

 some benefit from the nest, for the field-mouse often takes pos- 

 session of it, and rears its young in the pensile cradle. 



An allied species, the White-Eyed Flycatcher {Muscicapa 

 cantrix), builds a very pretty pensile nest, and uses so much 

 old newspaper in the construction of its home, that it has gone 

 by the name of the Politician. The other materials used in 

 the stmcture of the nest are bits of old rotten wood, vegetable 

 fibres, and other light substances, woven together with wild silk, 

 and the lining is mostly of dried grasses and hair. 



The form of the nest is nearly that of an inverted cone, and 

 it is suspended by part of the rim to the bend of a species of 

 smilax, that is popularly called the prickly vine, and which grows 

 in low thickets. The bird is very fond of this smilax and 

 rarely chooses any other tree for the reception of its nest, so 

 that the home of the White-Eyed Flycatcher is not very difficult 

 to find ; moreover, the bird is so jealous and so bold when 

 engaged in rearing its young, that it betrays the position of the 

 nest by scolding angrily as soon as a human being approaches 

 the thicket, and by dashing violently at the intruder with im- 

 potent rage. 



As we are near the end of our list of pensile birds, we must 

 turn to Asia for a specimen as remarkable as any which has 

 yet been mentioned. This is the nest of the Baya Sparrow, 

 sometimes called the Toddy Bird, a native of several parts of 

 India, and found in Ceylon. 



As may be seen by the frontispiece, the nests are variable in 

 shape, and hang close to each other ; indeed, the birds are very 

 sociable in all their manners, and fly about in great numbers, 

 flocks of thousands flitting among the branches and displaying 

 their pretty plumage to the sun. They have no song, and can 

 only chirp in a monotonous manner ; but the want of song finds 

 its compensation in the brilliancy of the plumage, which is 

 mostly bright yellow, the wings, back, and tail being brown. 

 They are particularly fond of the acacias and date-trees, and 



