DR. THEODOR NEUMANN. • 179 



It is of the pendent order, being neatly woven upon the 

 extremity of some slender twig which sways to and fro 

 even with the trifling weight of the mother and her tiny 

 brood, and will in no wise bear the heavy bodies of the 

 various snakes and lizards that abound among the 

 branches of the tree, and keep up a relentless persecu- 

 tion of young nestlings and eggs. The shape of the nest 

 is not unlike that of a large chemist's retort, the lower 

 extremity being produced into a large tube with the 

 mouth below, and the eggs placed in a large rounded 

 portion of the nest. No predaceous reptile could venture 

 into so formidable a stronghold, and any noxious insect 

 that might make its way through the tunnel would soon 

 be snapped up by the watchful parent. 



Very peculiar also is the nest of the white-shafted fly- 

 catcher (Rhipidura albiscapa), notable for a long and ap- 

 parently useless tail that hangs far below the branch to 

 which it is attached, and which, owing to its narrow di- 

 mensions and slight weight, can be of no service in pre- 

 serving the balance of the structure. It has been offered 

 as a suggestion that this singular form may have refer- 

 ence to the electrical conditions of the atmosphere, and 

 serve as a conductor, whereby the superabundant electric- 

 ity is carried off, and conveyed harmlessly to the ground. 



Let us again wander into an orchard or a little grove 

 to look at one of the most common and yet most admirable 

 works of art in nature. We are already close by it, and yet 

 our inexperienced eyes do not perceive it, the nest of the 

 chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), one of the nicest and neatest 

 of all the nests of our singing birds, the first one which 

 represents the guild of the felt manufacturers. It is 

 always located in the fork of some bush or tree, deep 

 cup-shaped, composed of moss, hair, wool and lichens, 

 the latter, however, spread abundantly over the outer 

 surface, so that it is rather difficult to recognize it, as those 

 lichens, taken from the same tree, make the whole look 



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