BIRD ARCHITECTURE. 
21 
acter; others in the apple, phim, and cherry of our sober English 
orchards. 
THE NEST. 
If we turn for a moment to Bird Architecture, of which we shall 
speak more fully in a later chapter, we find ourselves confronted by a 
subject of the utmost charm and significance. Between the rudely- 
woven nest of the sparrow and the exquisite workmanship of the 
chaffinch, how vast the interval! And again, what a difference be- 
tween the compact and trim little abode of the chaffinch and the plat- 
form of larch-twigs, hair, wool, and feathers which the vulture and his 
mate inhabit! 
" Tlie Nest" is, indeed, a theme on which every writer feels tempted 
to enlarge. As Michelet says, this attractive object, so mucli more 
delicate than language can describe, owes everything to art, and 
skill, and calculation. Its materials are not always those which the 
little builder would have preferred, and generally they are of the 
rudest description. Then, again, the implements or tools employed are 
2 A 
