192 THE TAILOR-BIRD. 



Mr. Wilson, the celebrated ornithologist, informs 

 us that the oriele builds its nest of long and flexible 

 grass, which is knitted or sewed through and through 

 in a thousand directions, as if done with a needle, and 

 which made a lady inquire if the bird could not be 

 taught to darn stockings. The Baltimore bird, seek- 

 ing materials for its nest when the women hang out 

 their thread to bleach, perceives that this will suit 

 the purpose, and carries it off. Skeins of silk and 

 hanks of thread have been found hanging round its 

 nest, but so woven up and entangled as to be irre- 

 claimable. 



Colonel Sykes states that " the species of tailor- 

 bird (Orthotomus Bennettii) whose operations came 

 under his own observations, constructed its nest by 

 sewing the leaves of trees together with cotton thread 

 and fibres ; and that he has seen nests in which the 

 thread used was literally knotted at the end*." 



During my stay at Glen Lynden, early one morn- 

 ing two Caffers came to the residence of Mr. Van 

 der Nes, the Veld Cornet of the district, one some- 

 what advanced in years, the other a fine robust 

 young man, when the latter addressed himself to the 

 magistrate in Dutch, and stated that he was in the 

 service of a colonist not far distant ; that he had 

 hired himself for twelve months in consideration of 

 being remunerated with a certain number of cows ; 

 and that not long since he had purchased a wife, the 



* Proceedings of the Zoological Society, vol. ii. p. 90. 



