Part 5

THE JACKDAW.

The Jackdaw builds her nest in towers of churches, the ruins of old castles and abbeys, rocks, hollow trees, and chalk pits. It is made of sticks, straw, and hay, with an inner lining of large feathers, hair, and wool. The eggs, numbering from three to six, are a pale green-blue, spotted with dingy brown; the spots are confluent at the larger or thicker end.

THE COMMON GROUSE.

The Grouse lays on an average about nine eggs; as many as fifteen have been found, but this number has been by some attributed to two birds, as they will sometimes build (if we may term it such) within a yard of each other. Their nests merely consist of a little hollow scratched out, and lined with heather or bent. The eggs are of a dirty white colour, covered with umber-brown spots. Both the old birds are very cunning in trying to decoy the intruder away from the whereabouts of the nest, feigning lameness or injury.

THE KESTREL.

The Kestrel lays four to seven eggs of a dirty white, sometimes with a bluish tinge, thickly covered with reddish-brown blotches. She generally makes no nest at all, but scratches a hollow in the soft earth on a ledge of rock situated on high mountain or sea-cliffs. The deserted nest of the crow is sometimes utilised.

THE ROBIN.

This beautiful little bird, the favourite of English children, builds her nest in walls and banks, where roots and moss abound. It is composed of moss, fibrous roots, and leaves, and is sometimes lined with hair. She lays five or six eggs of a very light gray, spotted with a dull light red; sometimes these spots are very few.

THE REDPOLL.

The eggs of this bird are four or five in number, of a very pale blue-green colour, spotted about the larger end with orange-red. The eggs retain much of their pretty colour after being blown, they are of such a beautiful blue. She makes her nest of hay and moss, lined inside with willow-down, and finishes it off in the most beautiful manner. She builds her nest in willows, alders, and other bushes that fringe streams and ponds in mountainous districts.

THE RINGDOVE.

The Ringdove makes a very loose, slovenly nest of twigs and sticks, and it is sometimes so badly built that the eggs may be seen through the bottom of the nest. She builds in fir, yew, or other trees, sometimes in ivy that grows upon rocks and trees, very near the ground. She lays two white eggs of a rounded oval shape.

1. Golden-crested Wren. 2. Whitethroat. 3. Siskin. 4. Thrush. 5. Greenfinch. 6. Redstart. 7. Great Tit. 8. Teal. 9. Blackbird. ]

THE WRYNECK.

The eggs of this bird are from five to eight in number, of a pure white. She makes her nest in holes in the trunks of trees. It is made of dry, rotten wood, which is ground down to a kind of powder, and it has been found lined with moss and feathers.

THE GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN.

This little bird, like the others of its tribe, lays a considerable number of eggs for its small size. They are eight or nine in number, thickly spotted with reddish-brown, these spots being confluent at the larger end. The underground colour is a faint fleshy tint. Her nest is made of moss and lichens, and is lined with willow-down and feathers. The outside of the nest generally harmonises with its situation, which is amongst the branches of a tree, generally of the fir, from a branch of which the nest is usually suspended.

THE WHITETHROAT.

The Whitethroat lays four or five eggs of a greenish-white colour, spotted with brown and gray, the spots sometimes form a zone or belt round the larger end. Her nest is made of dead grass and a little hair, loosely attached, the nest being carelessly made. It is situated in low thick herbage, or amongst nettles, or other ground weeds.

THE SISKIN.

This bird lays four or five eggs of a bluish ground colour, some being spotted all over with cloudy rusty spots, others with these spots well-defined about the larger end. Her nest is made of green moss, small twigs, dried grass, and sometimes lined with feathers and rabbits'-down. The nest is rarely found in Britain; its usual situation is amongst furze-bushes.

THE THRUSH.

The Thrush builds her nest in hedges, banks, against the trunks of trees, in stone walls, and is fond of ivy against trees or rocks. Her nest is made of grass and moss, the interior being lined with clay or cow-dung, in which are sometimes found pieces of decayed wood. She lays from four to six eggs, of a beautiful blue spotted with black, most of the spots being on the thick end of the egg.

THE GREENFINCH.

This bird lays four or five eggs, which are white tinged with blue, and speckled at the larger end with light orange-brown. Her nest is situated in thick hedges, ivy, holly, and other evergreens. It is composed of moss and wool, and is lined with hair and feathers. The nests of these birds have been found so close that the material of two was interwoven together.

THE REDSTART.

The nest of this bird is made of moss lined with hair and feathers. It is situated in holes in rocks, walls, trees, stables, and barns; and the bird has been known to build in a plant pot with the bottom upwards, entering through the hole. She lays from five to seven eggs, of a pale bluish-green, unspotted.

1. Nuthatch. 2. Sea Gull. 3. Woodpecker. 4. Kingfisher 5. Moorhen. 6. Nightingale. 7. Lapwing. 8. Barn Owl. 9. Crossbill. ]