8 THE HUMAN SIDE OF BIRDS 



clay walls, they light the chamber beautifully with 

 a phosphorescent glow, so that the house looks like 

 a fairy palace in the dark. 



In the building of dainty, wildwood bungalows, 

 a species of warbler, called the tailor-bird, displays 

 a remarkable esthetic taste. With astonishing 

 skill he sews together with plant fibre the edges of 

 a broad leaf, or of two leaves, forming a dainty lit- 

 tle deep cup of living green. In it is built a luxuri- 

 ous nest of tan grasses of fine texture, lined with 

 thistle down and dried flower petals. A cradle in- 

 deed fit for the gods! 



A landscape artist of world fame is the gardener- 

 bird. He does not care so much about his nest, but 

 his yard is where his artistic genius finds highest ex- 

 pression. He is a naturalist, an architect, and a 

 landscape artist combined 1 



The manner in which he beautifies his garden 

 is most extraordinary. The noted naturalist, De 

 Bessari, claims that this bird-artist seeks a level 

 spot on which grows a bush or shrub about the 

 thickness of a walking-cane. "This is made the 

 central pillar of the edifice, and serves, at about two 

 feet from the ground, to fasten the framework of 

 the roof to. It is held in place by an embankment 

 of moss built up around the root. After the frame- 

 work is formed, other stems are woven in and out 



