\ 

 How Animals Work. 



and Ceylon to the foot of the Himalayas, extending 

 into Assam, Burma, and Malaysia. " Its long, retort- 

 shaped nest," writes Dr. Jerdon, " is familiar to all; 

 and it is indeed a marvel of skill, as elegant in its form 

 as substantial in its structure, and weather-proof against 

 the downpour of a Malabar or Burmese monsoon. 

 It is very often suspended from the fronds of some 

 lofty palm tree, either the palmyra, cocoa-nut, or date ; 

 but by no means so universally as Mr. Blyth would 

 imply, for a babool or other tree will often be selected 

 in preference to a palm tree growing close by, as I have 

 seen within a few miles from Calcutta on the banks 

 of the canal. In India I have never seen the Baya 

 suspend its nest except on trees ; but in some parts 

 of Burma, and more particularly in Rangoon, the 

 Bayas usually select the thatch of a bungalow to sus- 

 pend their nests from, regardless of the inhabitants 

 within. In the cantonment of Rangoon very many 

 bungalows may be seen, with twenty, thirty, or more 

 of these long nests hanging from the end of the thatched 

 roof, and in one house in which I was an inmate a small 

 colony commenced their labours towards the end of 

 April ; and in August, when I revisited that station, 

 there were above one hundred nests attached all round 

 the house ! In India, in some localities, they appear 

 to evince a partiality to build in the neighbourhood 

 of villages or dwellings ; in other places they nidificate 

 in most retired spots in the jungle, or in a solitary tree 

 in the midst of some large patch of rice cultivation." 

 From the above description we learn, therefore, that 

 the Baya Weaver Bird by no means always selects the 

 same nesting site for its habitation. 



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