THE ESCULENT SWALLOW.

dependent on the uniform firmness and delicacy of the texture; those that are white and transparent being most esteemed.

A native of India and Ceylon, the little tailor-bird, measuring only three inches and a half long, and weighing about ninety grains, makes a nest, which all who see or hear of must admire. As snakes and monkeys are formidable foes to the feathered tribes, (and they abound in the country of the tailor-bird,) it makes a cradle of a leaf at the end of some pendant twig. If a

THE TAILOR-BIRD.-THE SEDGE WARBLER.

single leaf be sufficiently large, it draws the edges together, thus forming a pouch, the end of which is made to

in this country, it is abundant in Holland, and it also finds a home in the marshy grounds near Calais. Its nest is found among the stalks of growing reeds, admirably interlaced with fibres and grass, so as to form a secure support.

Another beautiful structure is made by the fantail warbler. It is placed in a tuft of tall grass, and raised above the ground. A number of the blades of grass are drawn together and sewed with a kind of cotton thread,

THE REED-WREN. THE PHILIPPINE WEAVER.

which the bird manufactures. Thus secured, they form an outer case to a long and barrel-shaped nest, open at the top. It consists of a cotton-like material, fastened by threads to the blades and stalks, which surround it so closely that nothing can be more completely concealed. How the thread is formed, and how the sewing is done, we cannot tell. Truly "the God of nature is the secret guide."

The reed-wren also builds a pretty nest, wherever marshes, fens, and sluggish waters yield abundantly its food and shelter, in reeds and tall grasses.

The Philippine weaver-bird skilfully weaves a nest, in the shape of an inverted flask: the entrance is at the end of a prolonged neck, through which is the passage to a snug little chamber in the round body of this singular dwelling. It may sometimes be seen suspended over wells.

The engraving (p. 26) is taken from the nest of an African species of this genus. It is fixed to the slender leaves of some kind of palm, and is remarkably firm and beautiful. It consists of the long tough stalks of one of the grasses, interwoven with admirable exactness and nicety. Who that dwells on the various stages of the work, from the twining of the first fibre round the leaf to the completion of long and depending passages, will