Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 6 (1902).djvu/306

256 stalk by the end, flies into the bush, and hops round from twig to twig in circular fashion, so that the stem is left entangled in a circle or half-circle; then off she goes for a second; until at length there is a pile of tangled material somewhat depressed in the centre. Now she sits down, and begins turning round, tucking in ends; then off she goes again for a scrap of moss or wool, and tucks that in; then perhaps there is a little strengthening of the outer walls by tucking in ends, twisting an end of wool round a twig, and so on. The soft inner lining is formed in the most mechanical manner; the bird collects mouthful after mouthful of wool, cow-hair, feathers, or any soft material, and carries it into the nest, until the cup appears almost full; then she sits down, scratches with her feet, and turns round and round until she has moulded it with her body into a compact felted inner cup. The addition of a few horse-hairs generally completes the little structure. All cup-shaped nests are formed much in the same manner, though some birds use sticks, thorny twigs, straws, or roots, where others use grasses; some strengthen the outer nest with muddy roots, with clay, or cow-dung, where others use wool, vegetable fibre, and spiders' web. The lining also varies, the Song-Thrush using mud or cow-dung, and moulding it with her body until it resembles the inside of half a cocoanut-shell.

There is far more art in the construction of a domed nest, and it necessarily takes the architects much longer; it is all built up bit by bit, of more or less mixed materials, if it be the nest of a Wren or a Tit; and the outside is sometimes decorated with fragments of lichen attached by means of cobweb. It is this which renders the Long-tailed Tit's nest so beautiful an object. If a soft lining is required, soft feathers are frequently used, and the bird entering the cavity, twisting and turning, pushes up with its head, and pokes the ends of the shafts into the walls.

The Weaving Finches (Ploceidæ), excepting when they build in holes or other convenient receptacles, have to work both industriously and cleverly before their home is ready; but only in a few instances is the labour confined to one sex, the nest being