The J\ ati trail t>t,s' Conijjaiiloii. 
birth. When it breaks the shell it 
throws off the leaves that cover it, 
iiioiints the crest of its birthplace, dries 
its wings, (for it is full hedged,) gives 
a few flaps, and ‘diaving east a disturb¬ 
ed and inquisitive look upon the sur¬ 
rounding country, the feeble bird takes 
its flight into the atinos{)here and <|uits 
its cradle forever.” 
Another Australiufi bird, the tale- 
galla or bush turkey,whose nj)})earanee 
is similar to the eomnion turkey though 
somewhat smaller, builds a nest e(iual 
in size to a large haveoek. The mater¬ 
ial is collected by grasping the grass 
with one foot and hopping along ou the 
other until the bird arrives at the pros¬ 
pective domicile, where it deposits the 
grass, until after many journeys, the 
nest is completed. 
In respect to ingenuity of construc¬ 
tion, the social grosbeak of Africa, ex¬ 
cels all of its kind in the complexity 
of aerial architecture. This little bird, 
of similar size and appearance to the 
sparrow, congregates in vast numbers 
which unite in building one immense 
nest. There are sometimes more than 
six hundred birds inhabiting this ele¬ 
vated dormitory, or more than three 
hundred comi)artments to the nest. 
This abode has the appearance of* an 
enormous umbrella of which the trunk 
of the tree is the handle. “One of these 
nests,” says Patterson, ‘T had the cu¬ 
riosity to break down, so as fo inf'orm 
myself of its internal structure, and 
found it equally ingenious with that of 
the external. There are main' entrances 
each of which forms a separate street 
with nests on both sides at about two 
inches distant from each other.” 
The nest of the tailor bird, less re¬ 
markable in regard to size, is in one 
res})ect the most remarkalile than thaf 
made by any other member of the feath¬ 
ered race. The biial, selecting a plant 
with two large leaves, gathers cotton or 
similar material, and spinning it int(» 
a thread by means of its slcnider man¬ 
dibles and delicate feet, then, with its 
])ili for a needle, sews the leaves to¬ 
gether: and within the compartment 
so formed weaves a delicate nest,which 
is thus concealed from the observation 
of its enimies. 
Far less ingenious, the nest ol'dhc' 
korwe is to curious not to deserve men¬ 
tion. The female having entered her 
breeding place, the cavity of some tree, 
the male plasters up the entrance, 
leaving only' a narrow slit exactly' suit¬ 
ed to the form of his beak, through, 
which to feed his mate. The female 
lines the nest with her own feathers, 
and remains by her voung after hatch¬ 
ing until they are fully' Hedged. Dur¬ 
ing this time, from two to three months, 
the devoted husband provides food for 
the entire family', reducing himself bv 
starvation meanwhile to such a degree 
that a sudden low'ering of the temper¬ 
ature is sufficient to cause his untime¬ 
ly death. 
The nests of that peculiar swallow, 
salanganes, which inhabits the coast 
of China and the neig’hborino- islands, 
are affixed by thousands to the inac- 
cessable cliffs and dark caverns, and 
the gathering of them furnishes prof¬ 
itable employ'inent to large numbers 
of the inhabitants. Thev are compos¬ 
ed of a glutinous material resembling 
isinglass w'luch is composed of certain 
seavveeds partly' digested and afterwards 
disgorged, mixed w'ith the digestive 
Iluids of the stomach. 
Among a(piatic birds, the dabchick 
or grebe constructs the most curious 
nest, hatching, as it does, its y'oung 
