266 CASSELLS BOOK OF BIRDS. 



they construct their strange and beautiful nest is truly wonderful. Having chosen a leaf of adequate 

 dimensions, the ingenious sempstress draws the edges together by means of her bill and feet, then, 

 piercing holes through the approximated edges, she secures them in their place by means of cotton 

 threads, the ends of which she ties into small bunches and thus fastens them, so as to prevent them 

 from slipping through. Sometimes the Tailor Bird, having picked up a fallen leaf, fastens it to one 

 still growing on the tree by sewing the two together in the manner above described, and thus prepares 

 a pensile cradle in which the nest is constructed. The interior is lined with a thick layer of cotton, 

 flax, and other vegetable fibres, mixed with a little hair, and on this comfortable bed the eggs are laid 

 and the young live secure from the attacks of monkeys or snakes. The brood consists of three or 

 four eggs, which are white, spotted with brownish red at the broad end. 



"This bird is most common," says Jerdon, "in well-wooded districts, frequenting gardens, 

 hedgerows, orchards, low jungle, and even now and then the more open parts of high tree jungles. 

 It is usually seen in pairs, at times in small flocks, incessantly hopping about the branches of trees, 

 shrubs, pea rows, and the like, with a loud, reiterated call, or picking various insects, chiefly ants, 

 cicadellae, and various small larva?, off the bark and leaves, and not unfrequently seeking them on the 

 ground. It has the habit of raising its tail whilst feeding, and hopping about, and at times, especially 

 when calling, it raises the feathers, and displays the concealed black stripes on its neck. The 

 ordinary note of the Tailor Bird is, 'To-wee! to-wee! to-wee!' or, as it is syllabised by Layard, 

 ' Pretty ! pretty ! pretty I' When alarmed or angry it has a different call. It is a familiar bird, 

 venturing close to houses, but, when aware that it is watched, it becomes wary and shy. 



" The Tailor Bird makes its nest with cotton wool and other soft materials, sometimes also lining 

 it with hair, and draws together one leaf or more, generally two leaves, on each side of the nest, and 

 stitches them together with cotton, either woven by itself, or cotton thread picked up, and, after 

 passing the thread through the leaf, it makes a knot at the end to fix it. I have seen a Tailor Bird at 

 Saugor watch till the dirzee (native tailor) had left the verandah where he had been working, fly in, 

 seize some pieces of thread that were lying about, and go off in triumph with them. This was 

 repeated in my presence several days running. I have known many different trees selected to build 

 in ; in gardens very often a guava-tree. The nest is generally built at from two to four feet above 

 the ground. The eggs are two, three, or four in number, and, in every case I have seen, were white, 

 spotted with reddish brown, and chiefly at the large end." 



Colonel Sykes tells us that the eggs are crimson, but he has probably mistaken the nest and 

 eggs of Prinia soda/is, which last are sometimes of a uniform brick-red. Hodgson suspects that 

 there are two species confounded under one name, as he has on several occasions got unspotted blue 

 eggs from a Tailor Bird's nest. These were probably those of Prinia gracilis, the eggs of which are 

 blue. Layard describes one nest " made entirely of cocoa-nut fibre, encompassed by a dozen leaves 

 of oleander, drawn and stitched together. I cannot call to recollection ever having seen a nest 

 made with more than two leaves." 



THE EMU WREN. 

 The Emu Wren (Stipiturits malachurus), one of the most remarkable birds found in Australia, 

 is distinguished by the very unusual formation of the web of the six feathers that compose the tail, 

 a peculiarity most observable in the male. The upper part of the body is brown, striped with black ; 

 the top of the head rust-red; the chin and throat pale blueish grey; the rest of the under side is bright 

 red, the quills are dark brown edged with reddish brown, and the tail-feathers dark brown ; the eye 

 is reddish brown, and the beak and feet brown. In the female the top of the head is streaked with 

 black, and the region of the throat red instead of blue. 



