252 



BIRDS. 



[Chap. VIII. 



a clear and merry note; and the Indian weaver *, a 

 still more ingenious artist, hangs its pendulous dwell- 

 ing from a projecting bough; twisting it with grass into 

 a form somewhat resembling a bottle with a prolonged 

 neck, the entrance being inverted, so as to baffle the 

 approaches of its enemies, the tree snakes and other 

 reptiles. The natives assert that the male bird carries 

 fire flies to the nest, and fastens them to its sides by a 

 particle of soft mud ; — Mr. Layard assures me that 



" CISSA PUELLA." 



although he has never succeeded in finding the fire fly, 

 the nest of the male ' bird (for the female occupies 

 another during incubation) invariably contains a patch 



1 Ploceus baya, Blyth. ; P. Philippinus, Auct. 



