Part 7

Like some other of the Hawks, the Merlin does not take much trouble in the construction of her nest, simply selecting a little hollow, usually well hidden by heather, in moorland districts, lining it with dead ling and a little grass. The eggs number from three to six, according to some authorities; but I have usually found four on the North Riding moors, brown in colour, thickly covered with spots, blotches, and marblings of a reddish hue, especially at the larger end.

THE BITTERN.

The ground is chosen as the situation of this bird's nest, well hidden amongst the dense growth of reeds and flags, in close proximity to the water it haunts. It is composed of a plenteous supply of sticks, reeds, flag-leaves, &c. The eggs are found in numbers of from three to five, and have been described as of a pale clay-brown, stone colour, and olive-brown, all of which are as near the mark as a verbal description can come.

THE NIGHT-JAR.

This bird cannot really be said to make a nest of any kind, simply selecting some natural depression in the earth, beneath the shelter of a furze-bush or common bracken. She lays two eggs, which are grey, beautifully spotted, and marbled or veined with dark brown and tints of a bluish-lead colour, glossy. The female sits so closely, and harmonises so well with her surroundings, that, unless one happens to detect her beautiful large eye, the chances are very much against finding her nest.

THE STORM PETREL.

The Scilly Islands, St. Kilda, the Orkneys, Shetland, and the Irish coast, are the breeding haunts of the Storm Petrel. The nest is placed on the ground, amongst cliffs and under large-sized stones, being composed of pieces of dry earth and stalks of plants. One single white egg, about the size of a Blackbird's, is laid.

THE STONE-CHAT.

This pert little bird is very dexterous in the art of nest-building, selecting for materials moss and dry grasses to form the outer structure, and feathers, hair, &c., for lining the interior. The position selected is generally on the ground, at the bottom of a furze-bush, though sometimes quite away from any bush. The eggs number five or six, and are of a pale blue-green, with minute reddish-brown spots, chiefly at the larger end.

THE WHEAT-EAR.

A sheltered and darkened situation is generally chosen by the Wheat-ear wherein to build her nest--chinks of stone walls, the ruins of cairns, in old rabbit-burrows, under stones on moors, mountain wilds, &c. The nest, not very artistic in construction, is composed of a variety of materials, such as bents, grass roots pulled up by the sheep when grazing, and dried in the sun, hair and wool gathered from brambles, corners of rocks, and walls against which the sheep have rubbed themselves. The eggs number five or six, and are of a pale greenish-blue colour unspotted.

1. Pied Fly-catcher. 2. Meadow Pipit. 3. Tree Pipit. 4. Dunlin. 5. Landrail. 6. Skua. 7. Wigeon. 8. Golden Plover. 9. Skylark. ]

THE LITTLE GREBE.

An immense mass of aquatic weeds floating on the surface of a quiet pond, and thoroughly saturated with water, forms the nest of this bird. She lays from five to six eggs, at first white, but gradually becoming dyed a dirty mud colour by the decaying weeds with which the parent bird covers them on leaving her nest to seek food, &c.

THE CAPERCAILZIE.

This bird's nest is situated on the ground, and is composed of a few sticks and ling stalks. The eggs number from six to twelve, and are of a pale reddish-yellow brown, spotted all over with two shades of darker orange-brown, somewhat like those of the Black Grouse.

THE MEADOW PIPIT.

The nest of this common little bird is built of bents, with an inner lining of grass and hairs. It is situated on the ground, and generally in such a position that protection from the rain, sheep's feet, &c., is afforded by a stout tuft of bents, a projecting piece of earth or stone. Its whereabouts is, however, generally betrayed by the parent bird's peculiar flight when disturbed, even in the earliest stages of incubation. In the course of a day's travel on the moors I have met with several nests, some of them remarkably close to each other. The eggs number from four to six; and in spite of the fact that some eminent authorities have said that they are of a reddish-brown, mottled over with darker brown, varying but little, I should describe them as varying from light to very dark dusky brown. I should conclude, from long observation, that more Cuckoos are bred and reared by this bird than all the other foster-parents put together; and it is remarkable what affection it shows for the adopted nursling. Not long ago I had the misfortune to shoot a young Cuckoo during the dusk of evening in mistake for a Hawk, and was struck with pity on seeing the poor Meadow Pipit light on the dead body of the unfortunate victim, and try to drag it away as I approached.

THE PIED FLY-CATCHER.

This bird seems to resort annually to the same locality, and use the same nest year after year, which is composed of moss, grass, bents, feathers, hair, &c., and is situated in holes in pollard-trees and walls. She lays four or five eggs, of a pale blue, which might not erroneously be described as greenish-blue, unspotted.

THE TREE PIPIT.

The Tree Pipit's nest is always on the ground, beneath the shelter of a tuft of grass or low bush, and is made of fibrous roots, moss, and wool, lined with fine grass and hair. The eggs number from four to six, and are so variable in colour that verbal description is almost baffled in attempting to convey an impression of what they are like. Some are purple-red, thickly sprinkled with spots of a deeper shade; others of a yellowish-white, spotted and sprinkled all over with greyish-brown, like a Sparrow's egg.

THE DUNLIN.

The nesting-place of the Dunlin is on the sea-beach, among the shingle, heather, or long grass at the mouth of rivers, on moors and fells in the North of England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, the Orkney Islands, and the Hebrides. The nest is composed of a meagre supply of bents and straws, and the eggs number four, elegantly shaped and beautifully coloured, though very variable in ground colour, sometimes of a bluish-white, blotched all over with umber-brown, whilst others are of a clear light green, richly spotted with light brown. The hen sits closely.

THE SKY-LARK.

This familiar songster's nest is placed on the ground, amongst corn or rough tufty grass, and its whereabouts is generally betrayed by the peculiar scudding flight of the hen when disturbed. The nest is built of bents and dry grass, those of the most slender texture being placed inside. The eggs number four or five (I have never found more), the colouring of which is subject to variation, and not of the easiest kind to convey in a written description. However, the following may be taken as representative:--A dirty white ground colour slightly tinged with green, spotted and mottled with umber-brown, generally more thickly towards the larger end.

THE GOLDEN PLOVER.

The favourite nesting-place of the Golden Plover is on the dreary mountain wilds of the North of England, Scotland, and Ireland. She selects a slight natural depression in the earth, and scrapes together bits of dead grass, rushes, and heather for a nest, in which four eggs are deposited, with the sharp points all meeting in the centre. The ground colour of the eggs is stone or cream, spotted and blotched with umber or blackish-brown, of various sizes and shapes.