44 
NATURE’S CRAFTSMEN 
tie window in the side. Below this is a row of 
queer, gourd-shaped nests belonging to the 
crested caciques, some social South American 
cousins of the orioles. These clever weavers 
fashion their nests of grass and thin bark, often 
prolonging the gourd handle fully a yard in 
length, the better to protect the birdlings from 
monkeys and serpents. 
“Another interesting example is the nest of a 
European titmouse. It is woven in an odd sac- 
like shape, with a short tube for an entrance hall. 
Another pensile nest, which while not built by a 
weaver is of such ingenious craftsmanship as to 
command immediate attention, is the nest of 
the tailor bird, a little friend in feathers that is a 
familiar visitor about the lawns and gardens in 
India. The nest is a skilfully fashioned cup, 
which is held in place by neatly stitching two 
leaves together, usually with strands of thread. 
“ Then there is a beautifully-woven cup-like 
structure of bark and plant fiber fashioned by the 
red-eyed vireo or 4 preacher bird ’ as we com¬ 
monly call it. You have seen a specimen of this 
nest at first hand. Remember the one I sent to 
the college museum last fall? It was all deco¬ 
rated with wool, spider webs, and twine, and 
flaunted a gay ribbon banner, mute evidences of 
Madam Red-Eye’s artistic temperament. I’ve a 
general idea of where a vireo domicile is being es- 
