The greenish wax to be obtained would be more brittle than bees' wax, but it would burn very fairly, and diffuse an agreeable perfume. Having the ass with us, we lost no time in gathering berries enough to fill one of the large canvas bags he carried, and we then continued our route.
Very soon we met with another natural curiosity, the curious appearance of which surprised us much. This was the abode, under one roof, of a whole colony of birds, about the size of yellowhammers, but of plain brown plumage. The nests were built in a mass round the stem and among the branches of a tree standing alone, and a kind of roof formed of grass, straws and fibres covered them all, and sheltered the community from rain and the heat of the sun.
There were numbers of openings into the irregular sides of the group of dwellings, the nests resembling different apartments in a house common to all; twigs and small branches emerged here and there from the walls, and served as perches for the young birds, and resting-places and posts of observation for all. The general appearance of the establishment reminded us of a huge bath-sponge.
The feathered inhabitants swarmed in and out by thousands, and we saw among them many beautiful little parrots, who seemed in many instances to contest possession of the nest with the lawful owners.
Fritz, being an expert climber and exceedingly anxious to examine the nests more closely, ascended the tree, hoping to obtain one or two young birds, if any were hatched. He put his hand into several holes, which were empty; but at last his intended theft and robbery met with repulse and chastisement he little expected; for, reaching far back into a nest, his finger was seized and sharply bitten by a very strong beak, so that with a cry he withdrew his hand, and shook it vigorously to lessen the pain.
Recovering from the surprise, he again and more resolutely seized the unkind bird, and, despite its shrieks and screams, drew it from its retreat, crammed it into his pocket, buttoned up his coat and slid quickly to the ground, pursued by numbers of the captive's relations, who darted from the other holes and flew round the robber, screeching and pecking at him in a rage.