FEATHERED ARTISTS 7 



with tiny living lamps. There is a living-room 

 below, and above are two other rooms: one a nurs- 

 ery, the other a rest-room for poor Mr. Baya, 

 whose family cares are most fatiguing. This inter- 

 esting bottle-shaped house is built of strips of grass 

 skilfully woven together. It is as compact as a 

 sofa-cushion, with a long rope-like neck which is tied 

 to a limb in the most ingenious manner. The en- 

 trance and exit to Mr. Baya's house are two holes 

 at the bottom of the entire structure. 



These strange artists delight in building their 

 nests in groups of from twenty to fifty, swinging 

 like so many graceful fruits from the eaves of hu- 

 man habitations. With their precious little treas- 

 ures they sway to and fro in the wind like swinging 

 cradles. 



The Baya family are really human in their sense 

 of luxury; and their tastes do not stop in producing 

 a house of mere architectural elegance, but incor- 

 porate as well features of decorative and practical 

 value. For as soon as Mrs. Baya has the inside of 

 her bed-chamber arranged, Father Baya goes away 

 to find fresh red clay for the decoration of the walls. 

 Soon the inner ones are covered with this clay, and 

 often before it has time to dry and harden he has 

 captured a number of fireflies ; these not only make 

 very good food for Mrs. Baya but, adhering to the 



