164 INSESSORES. 



teresting action ; for she flew to the face of the rock, 

 which was thickly clothed with soft dry moss, and 

 hovering on the wing as if before a flower, began to 

 pluck the moss until she had a large bunch of it in 

 her beak. Then I saw her fly to the nest, and hav- 

 ing seated herself in it, proceed to place the new 

 materials, pressing and arranging and interweaving 

 the whole with her beak, while she fashioned the 

 cup-like form of the interior by the pressure of her 

 white breast, moving round and round as she sat. 

 My presence appeared to be no hindrance to her pro- 

 ceedings, although only a few feet distant ; at length 

 she left the place, and I left also." 



In all the species, as far as has yet been ascer- 

 tained, the female deposits but two eggs, which are 

 beautifully white, or slightly tinged with yellow; the 

 period of incubation varies from ten to about sixteen 

 days ; the young, when hatched, are quite naked and 

 blind, but soon become covered with feathers, and in 

 about three weeks are able to take care of themselves 

 and leave the nest, becoming in a short time as active 

 on the wing as their parents, from whom they can 

 only be distinguished by their plumage. 



The fact that the food of these birds consists 

 mostly of insects, has been well established both by 

 observation and experiment; the few individuals 

 which have lived in confinement have been seen 

 eagerly catching such as have chanced to be in the 

 apartment which they occupied ; while the quick 

 snapping of the bill, similar to that of the Fly- 



