4o6 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



cave. They are formed by a saliva-like secretion from two large 

 glands beneath the Swift's tongue, and resemble a mixture of gelatine 

 and the white of an eg^. Some are of a clear white color, others, 

 probably older nests, are a dark brown. We have not the time now to 

 regale ourselves upon bird's nest soup, but must hasten homeward, 

 passing on the way the playgrounds in Australia where the Bower Bird 

 in the breeding season woos his mate with ruffled feathers in an absurd 

 dance. 



The walls of the ball room are built by the male bird of twigs and 

 ■ sticks. He selects a place near berry-bearing plants, which he clears 

 of leaves and rubbish. Here he weaves an arched bower about a foot 

 long with an opening at each end. The female birds then bring deco- 

 rations for the floor, of gay feathers, and arranges about the entrance 

 every variety of decoration, — bones, shells, glass, and bits of gay cloth. 

 These are added to and re-arranged each day. The nests are built a 

 short distance from these bowers. 



In New Guinia we find a closely related Garden Bird which builds a 

 cone-shaped hut of the straw-like leaves of an orchid. The leaves and 

 blossoms of these orchids keep fresh for a long time. The birds bring 

 green moss and cover the space before the hut, and scatter over it 

 flowers, fruit and insects of bright colors, which they replace when 

 faded with fresh ones. Here they go through curious dancing antics 

 similar to those of the Bower Bird. 



But we must not linger too long on foreign shores when so many 

 wonders await us in our own land. 



We should like to stop in Merrie England and search for the cunning- 

 ly concealed nest of the Chaffinch. 



Its thick outer walls consist of green moss, rootlets and grass inter- 

 woven with webs stolen from various insects, and covered with bits 

 from the bark of the tree so that it seems a part of the branch on which 

 it is placed. It is a perfectly round ball, open at the top, with a soft 

 lining of hair, feathers and fibres. 



Now we are transported across the great waters, and enter our own 

 land by the Golden Gate to visit some California homes. Here is the 

 beautiful purse-shaped nest of the Bush-tit, seemingly out of all pro- 

 portion to the size of the tiny bird. 



The bird suspends a nest nine inches in length and five inches in 

 diameter from the branches in low thickets. The nest is composed of 

 dried leaves of white sage, pink plant down, bits of mosses and lichens, 

 and thickly lined with soft feathers with an entrance on the side near 

 the top. In the upper part of the nest, the walls are thin, increasing to 

 the thicknfess of one and one half inches towards the bottom. 



