THE FAN-TAILED WAEBLEE. 211 



being very similar to each other in shape, though not in 

 material. These holes are not at all regular, and in some cases 

 there are so many of them, that the bird seems to have found 

 some special gratification in making them, just as a hoy who 

 has a new knife makes havoc on every piece of wood which he 

 can obtain. 



When the holes are completed, the bird next procures its 

 thread, which is a long fibre of somf plant, generally much 

 longer than is needed for the task which it performs. Having 

 found its thread, the feathered tailor begins to pass it through the 

 holes, drawing the sides of the leaf towards each other, so as to 

 form a kind of hollow cone, the point downwards. Generally a 

 single leaf is used for this purpose, but whenever the bird cannot 

 find one that is sufficiently large, it sews two together, or even 

 fetches another leaf and fastens it with the fibre. Within the 

 hollow thus formed the bird next deposits a quantity of soft 

 white down, like short cotton wool, and thus constructs a warm, 

 light, and elegant nest, which is scarcely visible among the 

 leafage of the tree, and which is safe from almost every foe 

 except man. 



There are several nests of the Tailor Bird in the British 

 Museum, one composed of several leaves, and the other in 

 which one leaf is used. It is a pity that in all instances the 

 leaf has been plucked from the twig on which it grew ; and it is 

 to be wished that when other specimens are brought to England 

 the twig wiU be cut off, and that if the leaf should fall off, it 

 may be replaced on the spot whereon it grew. Beautiful as is 

 the detached nest, it does not give nearly so vivid an idea of its 

 object as if it were still suspended to its branch. 



The Tailor Bird is a native of India, and is tolerably familiar, 

 haunting the habitations of man, and being often seen in the 

 gardens and compounds, feeding away in conscious security. It 

 seems to care little about lofty situations, and mostly prefers the 

 ground, or lower branches of the trees, and flies to and fro with 

 a peculiar undulating flight. Many species of the same genus 

 are known to ornithologists, 



Tke tailor bird is not the only member of the feathered tribe 

 which sews leaves together in order to form a locality for its 

 nest. A rather pretty bird, the Fan-tailed Waeblei! {Salicaria 



p2 



