14 



became wiser with time, and took the trouble to 

 turn the telegraph to account for their personal use. 

 Thus a small bird in Natal, which had been 

 want to build its nest shaped like a cradle in the 

 branches of trees, built its nest on the tirst telegraph 

 wires set up, to tie snakes could not get at it. 

 The new position was found to be so secure that 

 the birds added a convenient little side door to the 

 nest, which had hitherto possessed only a small o- 

 pening on the side farthest removed from the over 

 hanging branch. A Brazillian bird also builds its 

 heavy nest of earth on the telegraph wires. 



The artfull parrots take a seeming delight in un- 

 iting the currents between different wires, and also 

 in breaking the porcelain cups on which the wires 

 rest. Spiders cover the wires with their webs, and 

 thereby great confusion is often wrought in the 

 telegraph system, as the most unlikely connections 

 are thus brought about. 



The melanerpes of Mexico probably turns the tel- 

 egraph to its use better than any other bird; it 

 rears its young in a hole at the foot of the post, 

 bores holes higher up from which it can observe 

 the approach of an enemy, and still higher up it 

 bores holes wherein to store its food; thus the pole 

 serves as its house, fortress and warehouse. 



