252 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



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

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



Another species, Phaethornis Eurynome, 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 {Phaeiliornis pygmceus), 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 gray-throated hermit, and is also deep 

 and cup-shaped, with an appendage so long as to give the 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 exte- 

 rior 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 248 it was mentioned 

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

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

 The species in question is the Hyhcharis cyaiieus, and the nest 

 resembles that of the fan-tailed 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 de- 

 scribes, with the vivacity of an eye-witness, the manner in which 

 the female Long-tailed ,Humming-bird {TrocMlus Polytmm) 

 builds its pensile home. The neSt is made of fine moss, cotton 

 fibres, spiders'-web, and studded externally with lichens, and is 

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

 in one instance overhanging the sea waves, suspended to a twig 

 of wild vine. The account is as follows : 



" Suddenly I heard the whirr of a humming-bird, and on look- 

 ing up I saw a female Polytmus-hoveriijg opposite the nest with 

 a mass of silk-cotton in her beak. Deterred by the sight of me, 

 she presently retired to a twig a few paces distant, on which she 



