310 
BIRD-LIFE. 
grass: this, however, like that of the Chaffinch, is 
always open at the top.* It is not so with the nest 
of the Long-tailed Tit: this, like the former, is 
exteriorly constructed of moss and lichen, interwoven 
with greater care and skill, and domed over at the top, 
leaving a round hole at the side to serve as entrance; 
it has, also, a lining of feathers, richer and thicker, 
however, than those of the nests of the Chaffinch and 
Goldfinch. The nests of the Dipper and the Wren 
closely resemble in form that of the Long-tailed Tit. Both 
birds are guided in the structure of their nests by the 
locality in which they are placed; and, though somewhat 
capricious in their mode of going to work, always make a 
point of having their nests covered, whether they weave 
the roof themselves, or find a natural pent-house under 
which to place it. The general form of the beautiful 
structure is a hollow sphere made of moss, with a narrow 
entrance-hole ; in the case of the Dipper it is lined with 
grass; and in that of the Wren this material is replaced 
by an ample bed of feathers. The nests of the following 
species are again a grade higher in the scale:—the 
Garden and Reed Warblers, Golden Oriole, Goldcrest, 
Sun-birds, and Humming-birds. The two first, alike in 
many other respects, also build similar nests. That of 
our Melodious Warbler f ( Hypolais ) rests on twigs, and 
that of the Reed Warbler is suspended between several 
reeds: both are constructed with stems and blades of 
grass plaited and interwoven together with marvellous 
* The nest of the Goldfinch is also often lined with plant-down and a few 
liorse-hairs.— W. J. 
+ This Warbler is always spoken of by Dr. Brehm throughout the work under 
the Latin name of Hypolais hortensis, whereas he evidently means Sylvia hypolais, 
or the Melodious Warbler, which is a native of Central Europe, and never breeds in 
this country.— W. J. 
