Part 9

The high, inaccessible cliffs of Scotland and Ireland are the places where this noble bird propagates its race. Sticks, heather, grass, and wool are the nesting materials used. The eggs are two in number, usually of an unspotted white as representative, but sometimes slightly marked with pale red--this, however, being the exception.

THE GREY PHALAROPE.

The breeding haunts of this bird seem to be as far north as it can possibly carry out incubation successfully; Greenland, Northern Siberia, and Melville Island being chosen. A natural depression in the peat earth serves as a nest, in which four eggs are usually laid, of a stony colour, tinged with olive-green, speckled and spotted (especially at the larger end) with dark brown.

THE SHOVELLER.

This duck breeds in Norfolk, the Fen districts, and Scotland, once numerously, but now more rarely. The nest is made in marshes as far removed from human intrusion as possible, and is constructed of sedges, reeds, &c.; and as the time of hatching approaches, the eggs are covered with down from the bird's own body. They number from eight to twelve, and are white, tinged with green.

1. Tawny Owl. 2. Grey Phalarope. 3. Golden Eagle. 4. White-tailed Eagle. 5. Eider Duck. 6. Herring Gull. 7. Shoveller. 8. Ruff. 9. Grasshopper Warbler. ]

THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER.

The nest of this shy little summer visitor is usually well concealed near the ground, in the middle of a thick bush. It is constructed of strong dry grass and moss outside, with an inner lining of slender grass. The eggs number from four to seven, and are of a pale rosy-coloured white, with spots and speckles all over of a darker-shaded red.

THE GOLDEN EAGLE.

The mate of this king of birds builds her nest in the most desolate and unapproachable parts of Scotland and Ireland, where even the skillful and daring cragsman can with difficulty come. The eyrie is made of sticks, a supply being added each year until an enormous pile is collected, almost flat at the top. The eggs number from two to three, and are of a grey or dingy white colour, clouded and blotched nearly all over with rusty or reddish-brown spots.

THE EIDER DUCK.

This useful member of the Duck family breeds on the Scottish coast and at the Farne Islands, and on the shores of Norway and Sweden, in great numbers. The nest is made of dried grasses, weeds, &c.; and as the process of incubation advances, like the Shoveller, the mother lines the nest profusely with the beautiful down from its body. The eggs usually number five, and are of a light green colour, oblong in shape.

THE TAWNY OWL.

A hollow in a tree, or the deserted nest of a Crow, serves this nocturnal bird for a nest. The eggs are of an elliptical shape, numbering from three to five, and are quite white.

THE HERRING GULL.

Sea cliffs and rocky islands round the coasts of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, are the nesting-places of this bird, the materials used being dried grass and ferns, loosely put together. The eggs are three in number, of a stone colour, sometimes light olive-brown--but this rarely--spotted with dark brown.

THE CARRION CROW.

This bold predatory bird is like the Raven, monogamous, and sticks to its mate for life. They use the same nest often year after year, driving their young forth as soon as they are capable of looking after themselves. On an average four or five eggs are laid, of a grey-green colour, blotched and spotted with a smoky brown. In some instances, like those of the Rook, they are found quite blue, minus spots. The nest is situated at the tops of trees in woods or plantations, and is composed of sticks like those of most birds, using the larger for the outside, the smaller for the inside, which is plastered with mud, clay, or cow-dung, lined with wool, horse and cow hair.

1. Carrion Crow. 2. Swallow. 3. Sparrow-Hawk. 4. Blue Tit. 5. Blackcap. 6. Partridge. 7. Wild Duck. 8. Cuckoo. 9. Pheasant. ]

THE SWALLOW.

I have observed that the Swallow's favourite nesting-place is amongst the rafters of cow-barns, stables, and out-houses of a similar nature. Nests may be found even in old chimneys, but it is my opinion that they only locate themselves in such a smoky atmosphere when no better place is procurable; they have also been found amongst the brickwork of disused limekilns. The nest is composed of clay or mud mixed with straw, hay, and rushes, lined with soft light feathers, usually gathered whilst the bird is on the wing. When a boy, I have amused myself for hours flying feathers for the dexterous Swallows and Martins to carry off to their nests, and have always observed that if the Swallow let a feather fall from her nest whilst building it, and did not catch it before reaching the ground, she allowed it to remain there, often to betray the locality of her eggs. The Swallow does not exhibit the same amount of care over the formation of her nest as the Common Martin or Sand Martin, and leaves it open at the top. She lays four or five eggs, white, which are unlike those of the other species of the family, inasmuch as they are speckled with brown, which generally forms a belt round the larger end of the egg.

THE SPARROW-HAWK.

The Sparrow-Hawk lays from four to six eggs of a bluish-white, spotted more numerously at the larger end with red-brown blotches. It is said to often utilise the disused nest of the Magpie or Crow, but I am inclined to the opinion that this is not often the case, as the half-score or so of nests which have come under my personal observation have in every instance been built by the Sparrow-Hawk herself.

THE BLUE TIT.

Blue Tits lay from seven to nine eggs, of a white underground, spotted with red-brown all over, but more numerously at the larger end. Their nests are composed of moss, feathers, and hair, and will generally be found in holes in trees or walls.

THE BLACKCAP.

The Blackcap locates her nest amongst nettles and brambles, generally near the ground, but not resting upon it. It is a very slovenly bird, as far as the structure of its nest goes, which is composed of fibrous roots and the stems of cleavers. It lays four or five eggs of a whitish underground, blotched and spotted, with two shades of brown or pale delicate pink, with dark red spots and blotches.

THE PARTRIDGE.