habitations of man. I have counted eighteen nests in as many feet under
the eaves of one house. She builds under eaves, angles of windows,
arches of bridges, troughs of cow-barns, rocks, sea-cliffs, &c. Her
nest is composed of clay and mud, particularly that found on roads
covered with limestone, as it possesses great adhesive qualities
when dry. If the weather is dull it takes her some time to build
her nest, but if it is dry and fine she runs it up quickly, working
most dexterously at it early in the morning. She lines it internally
with straw, hay, and feathers, and returns to the same nesting-place
year after year, sometimes to find her cosy little nest occupied by
sparrows. She lays four or five eggs, white, the yolk giving them a
slight pinky tinge, unspotted.
THE HEDGE-SPARROW.
The Hedge-sparrow's favourite nesting-place is in hawthorn hedges, the
nest is also found in furze-bushes, low shrubs, laurels, &c., and is
composed of straw, dried grass, moss, and wool, lined with hair. The
eggs are four or five in number, of a beautiful greenish-blue.
THE DIPPER.
The Dipper, or Water Ouzel as it is called in some districts, builds
her nest in such splendid harmony with its surroundings that it is very
difficult to find. It is generally placed near to some waterfall, and
very often behind it, so that the bird has to fly through the water on
entering and leaving her nest. It is also found in caves, underneath
the arches of bridges, and I have even found one in a tree. The
exterior is composed of aquatic mosses, and the interior beautifully
lined with dry leaves. Dippers' nests are generally of large size,
almost globular in form, with a central hole for the entrance and exit
of the bird. She lays from four to six eggs, the average being five, of
a delicate semi-transparent white, unspotted.
[Illustration: EGGS.
1. Dipper. 2. Garden Warbler. 3. Missel Thrush. 4. Spoonbill.
5. Ptarmigan. 6. Peregrine Falcon. 7. Curlew. 8. Hooded Crow.
9. Coot.
]
THE GARDEN WARBLER.
The Garden Warbler's nest is located a few feet from the ground, in
the branches of a thorn or bramble-bush, and coarse grasses, which are
densely matted. It is made of straws, dried grass, fibrous roots, wool,
and horsehair, and is rather loose and slovenly. Her eggs number four
or five, of a pale yellowish stone-grey, blotched and spotted with
ash-grey and purplish-brown.
THE MISSEL THRUSH.
This bird, known in many parts of the country as the Misseltoe Thrush,
builds her nest in trees, resting it on a branch close to the trunk, or
where the trunk ends abruptly in two or three strong branches. It is
composed of dried grass and moss, with a liberal mixture of wool, which
helps it to adhere to the bark of the tree, and is lined internally
with fine soft grass. Her eggs number from four to six, according to
some authorities, of a pale green, speckled with brown, of two shades;
however, the colours are subject to variation. She commences to breed
very early in the season, like the Common Thrush, and has been known to
lay twice in the same nest, which strengthens my opinion that the bird
does often rear two broods in one season, from the time I have known
her to occupy the same nest.
THE SPOONBILL.
The Spoonbill lays from two to four eggs, which vary in colour,
some being entirely white, whilst others are spotted with a light
brownish-red. The nest is situated in trees, or amongst the reeds and
rushes on the ground, the bird seeming, like the Heron, partial to
society. If the nature of the position will permit, several nests are
situated close together, and are composed of sticks, coarse grass, and
dried roots, carelessly thrown together. The bird does not breed in
this country.
THE PTARMIGAN.
This bird lays from six to fifteen eggs of a pale red, brown or white,
blotched with two shades of darker brown. Her nest is situated on the
ground, on the bleak stony mountain-tops of the mainland of Scotland
and the surrounding islands. It is merely a cavity scratched in the
ground, in which the hen lays her eggs.
THE PEREGRINE FALCON.
This noble bird builds her nest of sticks, and places it amongst rugged
cliffs, chiefly round the coast. She lays three or four eggs of a
red-brown colour, with darker blotches and clouds.
THE CURLEW.
Of slight construction, the nest of this bird is situated on moorland,
heath, and marsh tracts of land; a few leaves or other dry materials,
carelessly brought together among long grass, heather, or in a tuft of
rushes, is all that appears. The eggs are four in number, pear-shaped,
and generally placed with the smaller ends together, of an olive-green
colour, blotched and spotted with darker green and dark brown.
THE HOODED CROW.
Hooded Crows lay four or five eggs of a grey-green, blotched and
spotted with smoky brown. Their nests are built of sticks, heather,
and wool, and are situated amongst rocks and sea-cliffs in Scotland,
occasionally in trees, and are very similar to those of the Carrion
Crow.
THE COOT.
The Coot lays from seven to ten eggs, of a dingy stone colour or dull
buff, spotted and speckled with brown; the spots are less numerous but
darker than the speckles. Her nest is situated in marshes and ponds,
and is composed of decaying sedges, reeds, flags, and rushes; and,
though of clumsy appearance, is very strong. It is built on willows
that grow amongst the water, on tufts of rushes, and more commonly
among reeds. It has been known to be dislodged from its position by a
flood, and swept ashore whilst the bird was incubating without any
apparent inconvenience to her.
THE WATER RAIL.
As might be expected, the nest of this bird is composed of sedges and
flags, in somewhat considerable quantities, and is situated under thick
cover in osier-beds and swamps in which alders grow, more especially in
the southern counties of England. The hen lays from six to nine eggs of
a creamy-white, with a few small reddish spots and dots.
THE COMMON BUNTING.
The Common Bunting lays from four to six eggs of a grey colour, tinged
with red-brown, purple-brown, and ash-coloured spots or streaks. Her
nest is built of straw and coarse hay outside, lined in the interior
with fibrous roots, and sometimes with horsehair. It is situated
amongst coarse grass near to or on the ground.
THE YELLOW-HAMMER.
This beautiful bird lays from three to six eggs of a dingy white tinged
with purple, streaked and veined with purple-brown, the streak or
vein generally terminating in a spot of the same colour. Her nest is
situated on or near the ground, sheltered by overhanging grass, and
is composed of dried or decayed leaves of grass round the exterior,
followed by a layer of finer grass, and the interior lined with
horsehair.
[Illustration: EGGS.
1. Water Rail. 2. Common Bunting. 3. Yellow Hammer. 4. Gyr Falcon.
5. Jack Snipe. 6. Red-backed Shrike. 7. Chough. 8. Fieldfare.
9. Puffin.
]
THE JACK SNIPE.
According to some of the very best authorities on British ornithology,
the Jack Snipe does not breed in these islands although an occasional
nest is said to have been found. The bird is only a winter migrant, and
breeds in the neighbourhood of St. Petersburg. The eggs are four in
number, of a yellowish olive colour, spotted with two shades of brown,
especially on the larger end.
THE GYR FALCON.
The Gyr Falcon does not build in the British Isles, but in Iceland,
Greenland, and the northern districts of Europe and America. The nest
is composed of sticks, seaweed, and mosses, and is situated in lofty
precipices. The eggs are two in number, mottled nearly all over with
pale reddish-brown on a dull white ground. They are larger than those
of the Peregrine Falcon, but very similar in shape and colour, as well
as in the mode in which the colour is disposed over the surface.
THE FIELDFARE.
A Fieldfare's nest has never, within my personal knowledge, been found
in the British Isles, the birds breeding in the more northern parts of
Europe, such as Norway and Sweden, in large numbers. They build their
nests near to the trunks of spruce trees, employing such materials as
sticks and coarse grass, and weeds gathered wet, intermixed with clay,
and lined internally with long grass. The eggs number from three to
six, somewhat resembling those of the Blackbird or Ring Ouzel.
THE RED-BACKED SHRIKE.
The Red-backed Shrike lays five or six eggs of a pink-white or cream
colour, with brown spots predominating at the larger end. Her nest is
composed of wool, moss, bents of grass, and hair, and is situated in
furze-bushes, whitethorn hedges, &c.
THE CHOUGH.
This bird builds her nest in sea-cliffs, in caves, old ruins, &c., near
the sea. It is composed of sticks, lined with a liberal application of
wool and hair. Her eggs number five or six of a dirty white colour,
spotted and blotched chiefly at the larger end with raw sienna-brown
and ash colour.
[Illustration: EGGS.
1. Ring Ouzel. 2. Kentish Plover. 3. Buzzard. 4. Cirl Bunting.
5. Hawfinch. 6. Stock Dove. 7. Dartford Warbler. 8. Pochard.
9. Black Redstart.
]
THE PUFFIN.
Lays one grey-coloured egg marked with indistinct spots of pale brown;
the nest is generally minus materials, so the egg is placed on the bare
earth at the extremity of a burrow or fissure in a sea cliff. She often
adopts a rabbit-burrow if it is situated in the immediate neighbourhood
of the sea, and should the original owner or excavator be bold enough
to dispute the right of proprietorship, this remarkable bird is not at
all indisposed to do battle for possession of the situation her fancy
has selected as a desirable place in which to carry out the duties
imposed by Nature's law for the perpetuation of the species.
In the absence of a suitable cranny or rift in the rock, or the
accommodation usually afforded by the presence of rabbits, the bird
will set to work and excavate a hole sometimes as much as three feet
deep, sticking to her task with such assiduity as often to endanger her
safety from capture.
It seems, however, that she takes great care that whatever place is
adopted for her nest it shall not be reached by even the highest tide.
The nest of the Puffin is found in great numbers in the Isle of Wight,
Puffin Island, Scilly Islands, Isle of Anglesea, and many islands on
the coast of Scotland. The parent bird cannot be induced to leave her
nest except by force, sitting very closely, and determinedly defending
it with her singularly constructed and formidable beak, with which she
bites most severely.
THE RING OUZEL.
The mountainous districts of the North of England and Scotland are
the favourite nesting-places of this bird, which seems most at home
in lonely secluded districts. It has often struck me that it is to
this bird alone the mountain ash owes its existence high up in nearly
every little mountain valley where no other tree is to be seen, the
Ring Ouzel eating the berries and dropping the seed in all sorts of
out-of-the-way nooks and corners. The situation of the nest, its
materials and structure, also the eggs of the Ring Ouzel and Blackbird,
differ but little, and I have often had a difficulty in determining the
rightful owner of a nest, until the parent bird has been watched on or
off. The nest is composed of coarse grass, moss, and mud, with an inner
lining of finer grass, and is generally situated in clefts of rock,
steep banks, or old walls, sometimes quite on the ground. The eggs
number four or five, of a dull bluish-green, freckled or blotched with
reddish-brown, markings generally larger and fewer than those of the
Blackbird.
THE KENTISH PLOVER.
No trouble is taken by this bird in nest-building, simply depositing
its eggs in some depression or hollow of the sand or shingle on the
southern coasts of England, principally Kent and Sussex. The eggs
number four, and are of a cream, stone, or pale testaceous-brown
colour, streaked and spotted with black.
THE BUZZARD.
The Buzzard sometimes builds a nest of sticks, hay, leaves, and wool;
at others adopts a crow's nest in some moderately high tree. Her eggs
number two, three, and even four, and are of a dingy white; sometimes
this colour alone, and at others spotted and blotched at the larger end
with red-brown.
THE CIRL BUNTING.
Some low bush or furze is generally adopted by this bird for its
nesting-place. The nest is composed of dry grass, roots, and moss, with
generally an inner lining of hair, but sometimes without either moss
or hair. The eggs number four or five, of a dull bluish or cinereous
white with irregular streaks of dark brown, often terminating in a spot
at one end.
THE HAWFINCH.
The Hawfinch builds in various kinds of trees and at various heights;
sometimes its nest is found quite exposed in a whitethorn bush, or on
the horizontal branch of an oak. It is built of twigs, &c., intermixed
with lichens, and interlined with fine fibrous roots and hair. Her eggs
number from four to six, of a pale olive-green colour, irregularly
streaked with dusky grey and spotted with black. The ground colour is
variable, being sometimes of a buffish hue.
THE STOCK DOVE.
Clefts in rocks, rabbit-holes, cavities in the trunks of trees, and
often on the ground beneath thick furze-bushes which are next door to
waterproof on account of their thickness, are the situations chosen
by the Stock Dove. Very little trouble is taken with the nest, which
merely consists of a few twigs and roots. The eggs only number two, of
a pure shining white.
THE DARTFORD WARBLER.
Thick furze-bushes are the places chosen by this bird for its
nesting-place on the commons of Kent and Surrey. The materials used
are dead branches of furze, moss, and dry grass mixed with wool, and
lined inside with finer dead grasses, the whole structure being loosely
put together. The eggs number four or five, and are of a greenish,
sometimes buffish, white ground speckled all over with dark or
olive-brown and cinereous, which become more dense at the larger end
and form a zone. The eggs are at times more numerously spotted than at
others; then the markings are not so large.
THE POCHARD.
This bird breeds in the east and south of England, also in Scotland
and Ireland, although it is much less numerous during the summer than
the winter months. The position of its nest is similar to that of the
Wild Duck, also the materials of which it is composed (dead grass and
sedge, as well as down when the bird has begun to sit). Its eggs number
from seven even to thirteen, but ten is the usual number laid, of a
greenish-buff colour.
THE BLACK REDSTART.
This well-known visitor breeds in many parts of Europe and North
Africa, building a nest very similar to that of the Robin, composed
chiefly of twigs, straw, dried grass, &c., and situated in holes of
walls and other positions similar to the above-mentioned bird. Five is
the usual number of eggs; however, four only, or as many as six, are
found, generally pure white in colour, occasionally tinged faintly with
brown. Cases are recorded where they have been found spotted at the
larger end with minute brown spots.
[Illustration: EGGS.
1. Spotted Fly-catcher. 2. Tree Sparrow. 3. Brambling. 4. Whinchat.
5. Scoter. 6. Grey Wagtail. 7. Smew. 8. Black-headed Bunting.
9. Great Spotted Woodpecker.
]
THE SPOTTED FLY-CATCHER.
Many curious positions for rearing a family have been chosen by the
Spotted Fly-catcher, but its nest is generally found in trees which are
trained against walls, barns, tool and summer houses. It is composed
of a diversity of material, and no fixed rule seems to be adhered
to--bents, straws, moss new and old, hairs, feathers, &c. The eggs
number four, five, or even six, of a grey-white spotted with faint
red; sometimes, but rarely, pale blue, unspotted. The ground colour
varies from grey or bluish-white to pea-green, the markings also being
in various shades, clouded, spotted, and blotched with faint red or
reddish-brown.
THE TREE SPARROW.
Holes in pollard and other trees are chosen as desirable situations by
this bird for perpetuating its race, and sometimes in the thatches of
old barns along with the Common House Sparrow. Its nest is very similar
to that of its more widely-distributed and better-known kinsman, viz.,
of hay, dry grass, and straw, with a liberal lining of nice warm
feathers. The eggs generally number four or five, of a grey colour,
thickly spotted with umber-brown or darker grey, sometimes white
with grey spots or blotches, and may be described, like the Common
Sparrow's, as variable.
THE BRAMBLING.
Scandinavia and other countries situated in high latitudes are the
breeding haunts of this little bird, which builds a nest very similar
to the Chaffinch. It is placed fourteen or twenty feet from the
ground, in the fork of a branch shooting out from the trunk of a birch
or spruce fir-tree, and composed of moss, lichens, bark, mixed with
thistle-down, and lined with fine grass and feathers. Its eggs number
from five to seven, similar to those of the Chaffinch, the ground
colour being generally green, and the spots not so dark nor large.
THE WHINCHAT.
The nest of this bird is composed of grass and moss of different kinds,
the stronger on the outside, and the finer forming a lining for the
interior, and is situated on the ground in positions where it is by no
means an easy task for the most veteran collector to find it. It lays
five or six eggs of a delicate bluish-green, rarely speckled or marked
with red-brown.
THE SCOTER.
The most northern counties of Scotland are the nesting-places of this
bird, which gathers together such materials as twigs, grasses, dry
stalks, and leaves, placing them under cover, or in hiding, afforded
by the low-growing shrubs or plants, and lining the whole with down.
The eggs number from six to ten, and are of a pale greyish-buff colour,
sometimes slightly tinged with green.
THE GREY WAGTAIL.
Some naturalists describe the position of this bird's nest as on the
ground; but, personally, I have generally found them in the niches of
rocks, or under overhanging ledges or banks. The nest is composed of
moss, bents, grass, horsehair, often lined with a coat of cow's-hair,
which they rub off against walls and trees in the spring-time. This
bird's eggs number five or six, and are of a grey colour, mottled and
spotted with ochre-grey or brown, variable.
[Illustration: EGGS.
1. Rock Pipit. 2. Cormorant. 3. Creeper. 4. Turtle Dove.
5. Shore Lark. 6. Gannet. 7. Quail. 8. Oyster-catcher.
9. Cole Tit.
]
THE SMEW.
The nesting-place of this bird is in high latitudes, such as north-east
Russia, and the situation chosen is in the hollow trunk of a tree.
The material of which the nest is composed is taken from the bird's
body, and consists entirely of down. Her eggs number from seven to
eight, very similar to those of the Wigeon, creamy-white in colour,
fine-grained, and rather glossy.
THE BLACK-HEADED BUNTING.
Moist swampy localities are chosen by this bird as the situation for
its nest, which is composed of dried grass, moss, and an inner lining
of finer grass, reed-down, or horsehair, and generally, though not
always, placed on the ground, among rushes or coarse long grass. It
lays four or five eggs of a pale reddish-brown or grey with a rosy
tinge, streaked, veined, and spotted with brown of a rich dark purple
shade.
THE GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER.
The position of the Woodpecker's nest is in the hollow trunk of some
tree. A hole generally about two feet deep is chosen, but the parent
bird does not seem to consider any attempt at nest-building in any way
necessary. The eggs are laid on pieces of wood chipped off inside,
and number four or five, white, occasionally stained or dyed by the
material on which they are laid.
THE ROCK PIPIT.
Ledges or crevices of rocks near the sea-shore are the favourite
building-places of this bird. It collects such materials as dry
grasses of various kinds, and seaweed, with an inner lining of fine
grass, and occasionally horsehair. Its eggs number four or five, of
a grey ground colour, occasionally slightly tinged with green. The
spots are variable in shade, being sometimes greyish-brown, at others
reddish; the underlying ones are always light grey. The spots are
small, and more crowded at the larger end.
THE CORMORANT.
Rocky coasts are chosen by the Cormorant, which builds an ample nest of
sticks, seaweed, and coarse grass on some ledge or shelf of sea cliff.
Her eggs number from four to six, of a chalky-white colour, varied with
pale blue or greenish tinge, which is really the colour of the proper
shell, the white being only a rough coat.
THE CREEPER.
This little bird generally builds its nest in a hollow tree, its
materials being fine twigs, dead grass, moss, and feathers, and lays
from six to nine eggs of a white ground colour, speckled with red-brown
at the larger end, much resembling those of the Willow Wren and Blue
Titmouse.
THE TURTLE DOVE.
The eastern and southern counties are the favourite nesting localities
of this Dove, which builds a loose nest of sticks and twigs, carelessly
thrown together, in a fir, holly, or other bush. The eggs number two,
are quite white, and much smaller for the size of the bird than the
Ring and Stock Doves.
THE SHORE LARK.
Cold northern climates, like Lapland and Siberia, are chosen by the
Shore Lark for breeding places. Its nest is generally situated in some
slight hollow on the ground, and is loosely made of grass, with an
inner lining of willow-down or hair from the reindeer. Her eggs number
three, four, or five, the second figure being the general rule, and
are, like those of the Common Lark, liable to variation in colouring.
The ground colour is of a brownish or pale green, tinted white, marked
with neutral brown spots often so profuse that they cover the greyer
spots underlying entirely out.
THE GANNET.
This bird seems to prefer just the opposite course to that which most
birds adopt in the breeding season, viz., to congregate in thousands,
and breed on precipitous rocks, engaging all ledges and shelves capable
of holding a nest, which is composed of seaweed and other rubbish
picked up by the bird from the ocean, also grass. One egg only is
laid, white or bluish-white when first deposited on the nest, but soon
becoming dirty and soiled by being trodden upon. Like the Cormorant,
this bird's egg is covered with an incrustation of chalk, hiding the
colour of the true shell, which is of a greenish or bluish-white.
THE QUAIL.
Green cornfields are generally the situations chosen by the Quail for a
nesting-place, where it selects a small depression in the ground, and
tramples a few blades of grass or corn down into it, occasionally a few
dead leaves. Her eggs number from seven to even as many as twenty, of
a pale yellowish-brown, mottled and clouded or blotched with red or
olive-brown; variable both in ground colour and markings.
THE OYSTER-CATCHER.
This bird lays its eggs, which number three or four--three being
the general rule--on the bare ground, mostly in slight declivities,
taking care that they are above high-water-mark. Sometimes a few
bents, pebbles, or broken shells are used as a sort of lining. The
eggs are stone or cream colour, of a variety of shades, blotched with
dark brown, occasionally streaked and spotted with a lighter hue. The
markings are variable in character and position, some being pretty
equally distributed over the eggs, whilst others are inclined to form a
belt round the larger end.
THE COLE TIT.
Trunks of trees, holes in walls and banks made by rats, moles, or mice,
are selected for incubation purposes by this little bird. The nest is
built of moss, wool, and hair, and contains from five to eight, or even
nine eggs, white, spotted and freckled with light red or red-brown.
THE GUILLEMOT.
The Guillemot makes no nest at all, but deposits its single egg on the
ledges of sea-cliffs in a great many places round our coasts. A verbal
description of it is almost useless, as the colouring presents such
a wonderful variety of tints. The ground colours are white, cream,
yellowish-green, blue, reddish-brown, pea-green, purplish-brown,
&c. Some are profusely spotted and blotched or streaked with black,
black-brown, or grey in great variety; whilst others are scarcely
marked at all. Our illustration may be taken as a very good specimen of
one kind of colouring and marking, though a very pretty one might be
given of an entirely different colour and character.
[Illustration: EGGS.