Some Foreign Bird Architects. 



gether for lack of the adhesive quality of clay, proceeds 

 to mix with the earth a great quantity of dried grass 

 stalks and similar material, and thus forms a firm, 

 hard exterior to the nest, while the inside is slightly 

 lined with grass and a few feathers. 



Another singularly confiding little bird, except in 

 the breeding season, when it exhibits extreme anxiety 

 at the approach of an intruder to the vicinity of its 

 nest, is the White-shafted Fantail, which is very com- 

 mon about Parramatta. Except in the breeding season, 

 the little bird will allow you to approach it quite closely, 

 and will not infrequently dash in at an open door 

 in pursuit of gnats and other insects upon which it 

 feeds. About October it begins to think of nesting, 

 and looks about for a suitable site, always selecting 

 a spot low down, within a few feet of the ground; 

 though the locality varies a good deal, for it will build 

 in the midst of dense bushes, in the open forest, or 

 place its nest on a branch overhanging a mountain 

 rivulet. The nest is a most elegant piece of work, 

 closely resembling a wineglass in shape, and is woven 

 together with exquisite skill. It is generally com- 

 posed of the inner bark of a species of eucalyptus, 

 neatly lined with the down of the tree-fern intermingled 

 with flowering stalks of moss, and outwardly fastened 

 together with spiders' webs, which not only serve to 

 envelop the nest, but are also employed to strengthen 

 its attachment to the branch on which it is constructed. 

 Altogether it is as dainty an example of bird archi- 

 tecture as one could well imagine. 



One of the most remarkable nest-builders in Brazil 

 is the Oven Bird, which is an expert mason, construct- 



221 



