232 HOMES WITUOUT HANDS. 



snow begins, and though the bird can exist just below it, the 

 absence of vegetation prevents it overpassing that line. 



The nest of the Giey-throated Hermit is made of moss fibres 

 and the same silken threads that have already been mentioned, 

 and is fastened to a leaf. It does not, however, hang from the 

 extremity, but is fastened against the side of the leaf, and its 

 tail, if we may so call the lengthened appendage, is not free, but 

 attached to the leaf in the same manner as the nest. 



Another species, Phaethornis Eurynom,e, makes its nest of the 

 tendrils of certain creepers, together with delicate root-fibres, 

 and attaches it to the leaf of some palm by means of cobwebs. 



Our last example of this group is the tiny species called 

 the Pigmy Hermit {Phaethornis pygmxBiis), a pretty little creature, 

 though scarcely a brilliant one, and decorated with green-bronze 

 above and warm red below. The nest of this species is fastened 

 to a leaf, like that of the grey-throated hermit, and is also deep 

 and cup-shaped, with an appendage so long as to give tlie whole 

 nest a shape resembling that of a funnel. It is remarkable for 

 the great use of which this little architect makes of seeds, the 

 exterior being covered with downy seeds, and the interior lined 

 with similar down, and the delicate fibres of flowering plants. 



The reader will remember that on page 228, it was mentioned 

 that the general form of the nest made by the white-shafted fantail 

 was similar to that constructed by one of the humming birds. 

 The species in question is the Hylocharis cyaneus, and the nest 

 resembles that of the fantailed warbler in two points ; first, the 

 manner in which it is suspended, and next, the formation of the 

 appendage. Instead of being fastened to the side of a leaf, as 

 is the case with the habitations of the hermit humming bird, 

 this nest is placed upon a twig, so that it is supported by the 

 cup, and the appendage hangs freely below. In other respects 

 the nest is similar to those which have been described. 



As the reader may like to know how the tiny architect 

 achieves her graceful task, I introduce a passage wherein Mr. 

 Gosse describes, with the vivacity of an eye-witness, the manner in 

 which the female Long-tailed Humming Bikd {Trochihts Polyt- 

 mus), builds its pensile home. The nest is made of fine moss, 

 cotton fibres, spider's-web, and studded externally with lichens, 

 and is one of the true pensiles, sometimes being found over 



