350 STRANGE DWELLINGS. 



ful nest is the firm texture of the walls. Externally, the nest 

 looks as if it were a mere large hollow bunch of cotton-wool 

 with a hole near the top, and seems to be so fragile that the eggs 

 would fall through the fabric. But when the inside of the 

 nest is viewed, it is seen to be composed of a kind of felt, as 

 firm and close as if it had been formed by human art, so that 

 neither wind nor wet can penetrate ; and it is capable of up- 

 holding a much greater weight than would be introduced into 

 it. To pull out a tuft of the cotton-wool is impossible without 

 tearing a hole in the fabric, so closely are the delicate fibres 

 interwoven with each other. 



In the accompanying illustration are shown the nests of two 

 species of Humming Bird. 



The oddly-shaped nest which occupies the upper part of the 

 drawing is made by the Fiery Topaz {Topaza pyra\ one of the 

 most magnificent of these lovely birds. Indeed, Prince Lucien 

 Buonaparte calls it the most beautiful of the Trochilidae, and it 

 is hardly possible to imagine a bird that can surpass it in bril- 

 liancy. The body is fiery scarlet, the head velvet-black, the 

 throat glittering emerald, with a patch of crimson in the centre ; 

 the lower part of the back is also green, and the long, slender, 

 crossed feathers of the tail are purple with a green gloss. So 

 magnificent a bird can have but few rivals, and there is only 

 one species which even approaches it in beauty. This is the 

 Crimson Topaz {Topaza pelia), a bird which is nearly allied to 

 it, and which much resembles it in general colouring. It may, 

 however, be distinguished by the colour of the body, which is 

 crimson instead of scarlet. 



The nest which is built by the Fiery Topaz is really a won- 

 derful structure. 



Its shape is remarkable, and is well shown in the illustration. 

 It is fastened to the branch with extreme care, as is clearly 

 necessary from its general form. The most curious point about 

 the nest is, however, the material of which it is made. When it 

 was first discovered no one knew how the bird could have built 

 so strange a structure. It looked as if it were made of very 



