DR. THEODOR NEUMANN. 166 



or two inches. Inside we have a dividing wall, separat- 

 ing the interior into two partitions, in the inner of 

 which the eggs are deposited, while in the outer the 

 male keeps watch and defends the entrance against any 

 intruder. Both sexes engage in its construction by bring- 

 ing small pellets of clay, and working them into the edi- 

 fice, and they carry on their operations so energetically 

 that, under favorable circumstances, when the mud which 

 they use is moist, not dried up by the heat, they com, 

 plete the nest in two days. This very fact is the cause 

 that the Brazilians consider the oven bird as sacred, be- 

 cause, as they maintain, it never works on a Sunday. 

 This is very likely the case, for if he has not begun just 

 on a Sunday, he has surely finished his work before the 

 next one comes around. 



Rather ridiculous seem the stories told about the nest- 

 building of the flamingo, who is said to erect a conical 

 hill of mud, to hollow out its upper part for the recep- 

 tion of the eggs, and then to stand erect or sit on it 

 astride, with his feet dangling down, like a long-legged 

 man sitting on a mile-stone. The truth is that the nest 

 is a heap of earth and other material, not high enough to 

 permit those long feet to dangle ; the incubating bird 

 doubles her legs under her in the usual way, so that she 

 can sit upon the eggs conveniently, which are kept dry, 

 out of reach of the tides. 



Continuing our way through the different workshops 

 of our winged fdends, let us make another stop to 

 observe a division which, for a long time, has furnished 

 material for the most incredible stories about birds 

 and their life. We refer to the guild of the cement- 

 manufacturers, which comprises foreign birds only, 

 and particularly the esculent swallow (CoUocallia 

 esculente). Their nests, which are built in fissures 

 and caverns of rock, are the celebrated edible birds' 

 nests, so highly prized by the Chinese for the prep- 



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