DOMED OR ROOFED NESTS 215 



trees, or in lower sites no more than six or eight feet 

 from the ground. It is a large and bulky structure, 

 often a conspicuous object for a mile or more, and 

 when finished is completely covered in with a dome 

 or roof. The outer part of the nest is first formed 

 of sticks, which are cemented together with lumps 

 of clay or mud. Then follows a substantial lining of 

 the latter materials. After this is completed, the 

 huge dome is built over, dead thorn branches being 

 generally selected, a well-disguised or masked hole 

 or passage being left on the side, near the top or 

 rim of the nest cavity, for ingress. Very often the 

 nest is left at this stage for a day or so to allow 

 the mud to dry, and finally a thick lining of fibrous 

 roots is added. Possibly some of the allied species 

 may use grass for a lining, but in our islands roots 

 seem to be invariably used. 



There are no domed nest-builders, so far as is 

 known, amongst the Birds of Paradise, but the type 

 is again forthcoming in the Starlings (Sturnidee). 

 Many of the more typical species of Starlings build 

 in covered sites or conceal their nests in holes of 

 walls, rocks, and trees, but some of the less familiar 

 and tropical forms construct globular homes. Some 

 of these are pendulous, and will be described in the 

 following chapter. Passing over the Drongos with 

 their open nests, and the Orioles, in which they are 

 also open but slung hammock-wise, we reach the 

 American family of Hang-nests (Icteridse). Some of 



