BIRDS. 
317 
long strings of moss ai’ound the contiguous branches, and 
binding them with felted wool, thus weaving the bush itself 
into the common structure. It is because of this con- 
nexion that it is next to impossible to tako a uest without 
so damaging it as nearly to destroy all its beauty : it can- 
not be removed without being almost torn to pieces. Then 
it must be adorned with little bits of gray and yellow and 
green lichens, stuck on the outside and bound down with 
cobweb, which doubtless greatly improve the beauty of 
their house in the eyes of the tasteful owners — Mr and 
Mrs Chaffy. 
Well, then, the exterior is finished -.—now it must be 
lined. Moss and wool are soft and warm, but something 
softer and warmer must be procured before it is a fit 
cradle for five naked tender birdlings. Besides, it must be 
made smoother than it is. Now the birds go a-searching 
along the lanes and over the commons for stray hairs, es- 
pecially those of cows and of rabbits and hares ; these they 
introduce, and, coiling them round the cavity, render it 
beautifully smooth and globular. The soft small body- 
feathers of other birds are then sought, particularly those 
of the ducks in the farm-yard, and interwoven with the 
hair ; and the structure, now complete, is looked on with 
complacency by the industrious pair. The Chaffinch, 
however, does not make so much use of feathers for lining 
as some other of our small birds. 
The Goldfinch, as we have said above, makes a more 
compact structure than this, as it is careful not to leave a 
single projecting sprig of moss or filament of down, bind- 
ing down the whole into a smoothly felted surface. It is 
fond of moss and wool, but does not much use hair or 
