keys, to which they might otherwise fall a prey.

In Dr. Latham's collection is a specimen of the taylor bird's nest,
composed of a single large leaf, of a fibrous rough, texture, about six
inches long independent of the stalk, five inches and a half in breadth,
and ending in a point. The sides of this leaf are drawn together so as
to meet within three-quarters of an inch; within is the nest, about four
inches deep and two broad, opening at the top; the bottom of the leaf
is drawn upwards, to assist in the support of it. The interior nest is
composed of white down, with here and there a feather and a small
portion of white down intermixed.

Another nest of this bird has also been described as composed of several
leaves, like those of some kind of hazel sewed together; the inner nest
formed of dry bents, fibres, and hairs, suspended from a tree. It is,
therefore, probable that this bird, as well as some others, varies the
structure of its nest as occasion and the materials may require. These
singular works are performed by the bird's using his bill instead of a
needle, and vegetable fibres for thread.

The _Rufous Bee-eater_, or _Merops Rufus_, constructs also a
very singular nest. This bird is a native of Buenos Ayres; the nest is
built generally on the naked great branch of a tree, sometimes on the
windows of houses, a fence, or a projecting beam of a high house or
other building; it is composed of earth, in the form of a baker's oven,
and is often built in the short space of two days, both birds being
engaged in its construction; it is six inches in diameter, and one
thick; a division is within, beginning at the entrance, and carried
circularly, so that the eggs are deposited in the inner chamber, on a
bed of grass. The swallow and other birds often attempt to obtain
possession of this nest, but are generally repulsed by the owners.

Many of the _Orioles'_ nests are also deserving notice. The
_black and yellow Oriole_, inhabiting South America, has a pendent
nest, shaped like an alembic; it is affixed to the extreme branches of
trees; sometimes, it is said, so many as four hundred nests are found
hanging on the same tree.

The _Philippine_ and _Pensile Grosbeak_ make also very curious nests.

In concluding this account of the nests of birds, I may notice here the
nest of the _Hirundo esculenta_, or _Esculent Swallow_, an inhabitant
of China and the Islands of the Indian Ocean. The nest consists of a
gelatinous s