224 EDGE OF THE JUNGLE 
of them could have rested upon the pair of 
strands; even the dragon-flies which dashed past 
had a wider spread of wing; but for these two 
there were a myriad glistening featherlets to be 
oiled and arranged, two pairs of slender wings 
to be whipped clean of every speck of dust, two 
delicate, sharp bills to be wiped again and again 
and cleared of microscopic drops of nectar. 
Then—like the great eagles roosting high over- 
head in the clefts of the mountainside—these 
mites of birds must needs tuck their heads be- 
neath their wings for sleep; thus we three rested 
in the violent heat. 
On other days, in Borneo, weaver birds have 
brought dried grasses and woven them into the 
fabric of my hammock, making me indeed feel 
that my couch was a part of the wilderness. At 
times, some of the larger birds have crept close 
to my glade, to sleep in the shadows of the low 
jungle-growth. But these were, one and all, 
timid folk, politely incurious, with evident re- 
spect for the rights of the individual. But once, 
some others of a ruder and more barbaric tem- 
perament advanced upon me unawares, and 
found me unprepared for their coming. I was 
dozing quietly, glad to escape for an instant the 
