130 
N£STS AND EGGS OF 
are here displayed ! It seems almost impossible that such wee specimens 
of the feathered creation could have built such a monument. But the 
naked truth, real and substantial, lies before us. When we contemplate 
this wonderful work of art, we know not whether to admire most the inde- 
fatigable industry of the builders, or their cunning workmanship. 
A typical structure before us is closely and evenly woven of slender 
spears of grass, fine rootlets, fragments of branching and crustaceous 
lichens, small stems, fibrous rootlets, down, vegetable cotton and mosses. 
These substances are pretty regularly distributed, like the colors in a 
carpet, so that the fabric presents uniformity in appearance. The interior 
is lined with down and other soft vegetable materials, producing thereby 
a chamber of which the daintiest Sybarite of the palmy days of Magna 
Graecia would delight to be the proud possessor. Some structures are 
cozily lined with large masses of feathers, which are made to project from 
the entrance, and which, in some instances, become a part of the walls of 
the building itself. Ordinarily, the nest retains the greenish-gray color 
which the mosses and lichens impart to its exterior, long after it has been 
detached from its point of suspension. The length of these fabrics varies 
from six to nine inches. The width is generally three inches, and the 
thickness of the walls, three-fourths of an inch. Inside, the depth ranges 
from four to five inches, according to the length of the structure, and 
width, from seven-eighths to one inch. The entrance is most generally 
near the top, and measures one inch in diameter. The S23ecimen from 
which the drawing is made, is six inches long, nearly cylindrical, with 
rounded extremities, and about three inches in width. The walls are an 
inch thick, and the opening, wTich is near the top, is exactly one inch in 
diameter. For convenience we were compelled to reduce the dimensions, 
and put it slightly in the background. The female bird, which has a 
length of 4.30 inches, and an expanse of wings of 2.15, is proportionally 
diminished, while the male occupies a position in front, and appears with 
uncurtailed proportions. The nest is represented as hanging from a 
branch, a species of cherry, which is popularly known as the soft-leaved 
chen-y. 
