504 On the nest of the Tailor Bird. [Ger: 
It appears to me that the nest described by Darwin may have been 
originally constructed of living leaves, and that one of them through 
some accidental cause, being detached from the branch of the tree and 
becoming dry and withered, led to the belief of the dead and living 
leaves being sewed together—and indeed a case of this kind happened 
in Captain Hzarsry’s garden, in consequence of which the bird forsook 
the nest. 
I am moreover borne out in this idea by the figure given by PENNANT 
and copied by professor Rennis, in which (as will be seen in the ac- 
companying sketch*), the dead leaf appears to have been detached 
from a small stalk growing out of the same stem as the green leaf to 
which the nest is attached. This figure in very similar in appearance to 
the nest in my possession above described. 
The second specimen is more satisfactory still, as in it were found 
an egg and two young birds nearly fledgedt. The nest was at 
the end of a branch of the Bhela (semecarpus anacardium), about two 
feet from the ground, and constructed of the same materials as the 
above, viz. raw cotton, cotton threads, also a little flax, and lined with 
horse-hair alone: the leaves are stitched together partly with thread 
prepared by the bird, and partly with spun thread, and so well con- 
cealed was it, that even after Captain Huarsny had discovered it (by 
accident) he could scarcely find it again to shew tome. The young 
birds were placed with the nest in a trap cage, and thus we succeeded 
in capturing both the old birds. 
I am however of opinion that this is not the kind to which the name 
of the Tailor Bird has hitherto been applied, but a distinct species. 
The following is a description of it : 
(SYLVIA RUFICAPILLA? Mihi.) Length from the tip of the bill to the end of the 
tail, 53 inches in one specimen, and four inches in the other; the tail of one is two 
inches in length, the other 13 inch, and both appear imperfect. Crown of the head 
fine rufous red, nape cinereous with a tinge of rufous; back, scapulars, and rump 
and upper tail coverts, olive green; wings light brown, with a tinge of green at the 
edges of the outer webs, and a tinge of the same on the upper wing coverts; tail of 
12 feathers, narrow, the two middle ones longest, of a lighter brown than the wings 
and with a faint greenish tinge; the outer feather on each side the tail with a small 
white spot at the tip. All the under parts are white. On the sides of the throat 
is a small black stripe, which is only seen when the bird is in motion, wholly dis- 
appearing when in a state of rest. Legs slender and flesh coloured. Upper man- 
dible dark horn colour, under one pale ; length of the bill half an inch ; irides 
rufous red. 
They differ only in length. 
* See ‘ Architecture of Birds.’' Lib. Entertaining Knowledge. t Fig. 3, 
