is interwoven with the twigs of a waving bough. The threads of grass
and long fibers of moss are woven together, in and out, as if by
machinery; and it seems hard to believe that the little birds can do
such work without help.

The tailor-bird of India makes a still more curious nest: it actually
sews, using its long, slender bill as a needle. Birds that fly, birds
that run, birds that swim, and birds that sing are by no means rare;
but birds that sew, seem like the wonderful birds in the fairy-tales.
Yet they really exist, and make their odd nests with great care and
skill. They pick out a leaf large enough for their nest, and pierce
rows of holes along the edges with their sharp bill; then, with the
fibers of a plant or long threads of grass, they sew the leaf up into a
bag. Sometimes it is necessary to sew two leaves together, that the
space within may be large enough.

This kind of sewing resembles shoemakers' or saddlers' work; but, the
leaf being like fine cloth and not like leather, perhaps the name
"tailor-bird" is the most appropriate for the little worker. The bag
is lined with soft, downy material, and in this the tiny eggs are
laid--tiny indeed, for the tailor-bird is no larger than the
hummingbird. The weight of the little creature does not even draw down
the nest, and the leaf in which the eggs or young birds are hidden
looks like the other leaves on the trees; so that there is nothing to
attract the attention of the forest robbers.

Another bird, called the Indian sparrow, makes her nest of grass-woven
cloth and shaped like a bottle. The neck of the bottle hangs downward,
and the bird enters from below. This structure, swinging from a high
tree, over a river, is safe from the visits of mischievous animals.