218 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



whole structure assumes a rather awkward and irregular aspect 

 The nest is of very large dimensions when compared with its 

 architect, being on the average four inches in diameter. 



There is another species of Acanthiza {Acanthiza reguloides) 

 which lives in Australia, and builds a nest very similar in its 

 materials and the general principle of its structure to that of the 

 bird already described, except that the supplementary nest is not 

 present. 



A MOST beautiful pensile nest is made by the Singing Honey- 

 Eater {Ptilotv^ sonorus), a species which is spread over a large 

 portion of Australasia. 



Here we have another example of an Australian singing bird, 

 for the melody of this creature is so loud, so full, and so rich in 

 tone, that Mr. Gould compares it to that of the missel thrush. 

 It is a soberly-coloured bird, though easily identified, the back 

 being pale brown, the top of the head yellow, and a deep black 

 patch passing over the eye and turning downwards along the 

 side of the neck. It is a lively bird, as are aU those feathered 

 creatures which feed chiefly on insects, and even in mid-winter 

 its melodious song may be heard in full vigour. 



There is a very common tree in Australia, popularly called the 

 myall, known to scientific botanists as Acacia pendula. The 

 twigs of this tree are long and very slender, and the leaves are 

 so narrow and delicate that at a little distance they look more 

 like grass-blades than the leaf of a tree. The reader may re- 

 member that this is a characteristic of all drooping or "weeping" 

 trees, the leaf and the twig being slender in proportion to each 

 other. The weeping birch and the weeping willow of our own 

 country are good examples of this peculiarity. 



Thus, as both the leaves and the twigs of the myaU are extra- 

 ordinarily long and slender, the tree is chosen by many birds 

 which biiild pensile nests, as will be seen in the course of this 

 volume. It seems a tree that was made for the express purpose, 

 because the long and slender twigs serve the double purpose of 

 affording a firm attachment for the nest and suspending it where 

 no ordinary foe can reach it, while the delicate leaves give their 

 aid in fastening the nest to the twigs, and at the same time serve 

 to conceal the structure from prying eyes. 



Although the general structure of the nest is the same in aU 



