134 CURIOUS HOMES AXD THEIR TENANTS. 



and handsome suit of feathers. No, she made a home 

 for her nesthngs. 



To begin with, she sought out a large leaf that 

 hung at the end of a slender twig and pierced a row 

 of holes along its edge, using for this piirpose her 

 sharp little beak, as a shoemaker uses his awl. This 

 done, she flew away and plucked another leaf, which 

 she prepared as she had the first. She then peeled 

 the outside of a growing plant into long, slender 

 strips, and, using these for threads, sewed the leaves 

 neatly together in such a way that a long bag, open 

 at the upper end, was made. In this bag, which was 

 in fact a nest, she placed a bed of soft, white down, 

 upon which, when they hatched, the baby Ijirds 

 rested. 



The same kind of bird now living in India is called 

 a tailor bird. It likes to live near people's houses and 

 in their fields and gardens, and is by no means as 

 timid and shy as other birds. 



A FEATHERED PARSON 



AND HIS HOME. 



Some time since a friend of mine, having occasion 

 to purchase a small article, entered a little thread-and- 

 needle shop in the environs of the city of ISTew Or- 

 leans, but found no one in the place. As she turned 

 about to leave, a hoarse voice called out : " Wait a mo- 

 ment, ma'am. Take a chair." Looking around her in 



