. Peter Parley's kaleidoscope : or, Parlor pleasure book : consisting of gleanings from many fields of the curious, the beautiful, and the wonderful . ly fromsnakes and monkeys. A species of oriole builds a similar nest,but with the entrance from above ; such nests are not unfrequcntlyseen on the further twigs of high trees, when the leaves, which hidthem, have fallen off. The Baltimore oriole, seeking materials forits nest, when the women hang out their thread to bleach, perceivesthat this will suit it, and carries it off. Skeins of silk and hanksof thread have often been found hanging round
. Peter Parley's kaleidoscope : or, Parlor pleasure book : consisting of gleanings from many fields of the curious, the beautiful, and the wonderful . ly fromsnakes and monkeys. A species of oriole builds a similar nest,but with the entrance from above ; such nests are not unfrequcntlyseen on the further twigs of high trees, when the leaves, which hidthem, have fallen off. The Baltimore oriole, seeking materials forits nest, when the women hang out their thread to bleach, perceivesthat this will suit it, and carries it off. Skeins of silk and hanksof thread have often been found hanging round its nest, but sowoven up and entangled as to be irreclaimable. The long-tailed titmouse builds a singularly curious and elegantnest, of a long oval form, with a small hole in the side near thetop as an entrance : the outside is formed of moss, woven or mattedtogether with the silken shrouds or aurelia of insects, and coveredall over with the tree and stone lichens, fixed with fine threads ofthe same silken material. From this thatch, the rain trickles offwithout penetrating, whilst from its similarity in color and ap- HABITATIONS OF ANIMALS 321. pearance to the bark of the branch, or the foliage of the shrub on which it is placed, it is not easily dis-covered. The inside is thickly linedwith a profusion of feathers, the softwebs of which are laid inwards, with thequills or points stuck into the outwardfabric. But the most extraordinary per-formance is perhaps that of the tailor-bird, the description of which would besuspected as an oriental fiction, werenot the authenticity placed beyond alldoubt. This bird will not entrust itsnest to the extremity of a slender twig,but makes one more advance to safety by fixing it to the leafitself. It picks up a dead leaf, and sews it to the side of livingones, its bill being its needle, and its thread some fine fibers : thelining consists of feathers, gossamer, and down ; these slightmaterials, therefore, added to the weight of the bird, whi
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Keywords: ., bookauthorgoodrich, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, bookyear1859
