BIOLOGY LIBRARY 
 
:I 
 
 EGGS. 
 
 \. Goldfinch. 2. Magpie. 3. Bullfinch. 4. Starling. 5. Chaffinch. 6. Ra< 
 7. Linnet. 8. Rook. 9. 
 
Birds' Nests, Eggs 
 and Egg-Collecting 
 
 By R. Kearton, F.Z.S. 
 
 Author of " With Nature and a Camera," " British 
 Birds' Nesti," "Wild Lite at Home." etc. etc. 
 
 Illustrated with 22 Coloured Plates 
 
 Cassell and Company, Limited 
 London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne 
 
BIOLOGY 
 LIBRARY 
 
 BIOLOGY LIBRARY 
 
 First printed February 1890. Reprinted June 1890, Af<y 18)3. 
 
 New and Enlarged Edition January 1896. Reprinted June 18 ,6, 
 
 November \&ga,July 1900, Marc/t 1902, September 1903, /wJy 1905, 
 
 Dtctmbtr 1907, January 1913, January 1915. 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
PREFACE 
 
 THE very kindly reception by the press, and a steady public 
 appreciation, have led to this endeavour to make my little 
 book more complete, by preparing an Enlarged Edition, 
 including all British-breeding birds that have now any 
 reasonable claim for treatment. The work deals with a 
 number of more or less familiar winter visitors that do 
 not stay to breed with us ; however, this is perhaps an 
 advantage nowadays, when we all travel much and far. 
 
 As mentioned in the preface to the first Edition, this 
 book is not intended to encourage the useless collecting 
 of birds' eggs from a mere bric-a-brac motive, but to aid 
 the youthful naturalist in the study of one of the most 
 interesting phases of bird life. It is to be hoped that the 
 Act of Parliament empowering County Councils to protect 
 either the eggs of certain birds, or those of all birds 
 breeding within a given area, will be of great benefit to 
 many of our feathered friends. 
 
 Besides a pretty extensive experience, I have, in the 
 preparation of this work, sought the aid of such excellent 
 authorities as Yarrel (fourth Edition), Seebohm, Dixon, 
 and others, to all of whom I gratefully acknowledge my 
 indebtedness. 
 
 R. KEARTON. 
 
 BOREHAM WOOD, ELSTREE, HERTS, 
 1896. 
 
 M85572 
 
WORKS BY R. KEARTON, 
 
 F.Z.S., F.R.P.S. 
 
 KEARTON'S NATURE PICTURES 
 
 THE FAIRYLAND OF LIVING THINGS 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS 
 
 OUR BIRD FRIENDS 
 NATURE'S CAROL SINGERS 
 
 WILD NATURE'S WAYS 
 
 WITH NATURE AND A CAMERA 
 
 PICTURES FROM NATURE 
 
 WILD LIFE AT HOME 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF COCK ROBIN 
 AND HIS MATE 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF JACK RABBIT 
 
 STRANGE ADVENTURES IN DICKY- 
 BIRD LAND 
 
 Cassell and Company, Ltd., London, New York, 
 Toronto and Melbourne 
 
BIRDS' NESTS, EGGS, AND EGG 
 COLLECTING 
 
 ' ,' 
 
 INTEODUCtlON'/ 
 
 The Problem of Preservation. As a rule the 
 first subject to which the young naturalist turns his at- 
 tention is the most interesting one within his reach, and 
 that subject is undoubtedly found in bird-life; particu- 
 larly that portion of it which concerns the nests, eggs, 
 young, and various modes of nidification, for this is 
 really the kernel of ornithology. Its details teach him 
 the utility of systematic study and close observation, two 
 important points in all matters of scientific research. 
 
 It is my intention in the following pages to furnish 
 as full and interesting particulars on Oology, which may 
 fairly be entitled to the dignity of a science, as can be 
 found, or is likely to be required, in any popular treatise of 
 its modest compass. 
 
 This particular branch of natural history has been 
 until lately but indifferently studied in fact, considered 
 unworthy of higher attention than that which could be 
 bestowed upon it by schoolboys. People have been content 
 to know that the wonderful architecture and mechanism 
 of a bird's nest was the outcome of a force vaguely known 
 as instinct, without taking the trouble to discover its 
 workings, extent, or limits. 
 
6 SGQS AND EGG-COLLECTINQ. 
 
 Instinct is an extremely difficult power to define, and 
 whether it be described as <{ hereditary habit/' or simply 
 accepted as an unknown law of Nature blindly followed 
 by its possessor, it cannot be denied that it is the outcome 
 of conditions, and always amenable to them. If the word 
 mystery were t of ten ^substituted for instinct, it would not 
 be l at'all oui l o placevfor it means quite as much. It is 
 \nori VdngsVtQ acknowledge our ignorance than to fence it 
 round 'by 'specula^v^'-tiiebry or cover it by almost mean- 
 ingless phrases. Survival of the fittest is undoubtedly 
 Nature's great law. With this end in view she governs 
 and regulates the actions of birds in exactly the same way 
 as she controls the colour and character of their plumage, 
 shape, size, tint, and number of their eggs, first move- 
 ments of their young, and other peculiarities we do not 
 understand. 
 
 If we grant that birds possess highly-developed imita- 
 tive faculties and tenacious memories, with a discriminating 
 power which enables them to adapt certain habits of life 
 to surrounding conditions, even this fails to explain a 
 great deal. Supposing it is the secret of their beautiful 
 nest-building, the house sparrow adopting trees to nest in 
 where the houses are built of brick and lack crevices^ or 
 the falcon deserting its usual high inaccessible crag and 
 nesting on the ground ; it cannot possibly account for a 
 young duck taking the water directly it has left the shell, 
 or the habit of young plovers, snipes, grouse, and other 
 birds crouching flat when danger is overhead even as soon 
 as they are hatehed. A stronger point still is migration, 
 for birds cannot return to their old haunts by a memory 
 of landmarks, as pigeons do even in their longest flights, 
 for they fly over immense bodies of water and traverse 
 
JBGG8 AND EGG-COLLECTING. 7 
 
 vast tracts of land by night, on wings the length and 
 strength of which have been specially developed for such 
 long flights. Some fly across great stretches of country, 
 yet are never seen except at the points from which they 
 start and finish their flight. Neither can these journeys 
 be performed always under the guidance of leaders, for all 
 migratory birds do not travel in flocks. 
 
 I will endeavour to point out how Nature has solved 
 the problem of preservation ; and it is equally interesting 
 whether by the self-governed action of the bird, or the 
 blind following of an impulse known only as instinct. 
 Because we are unable to find any protective colouration 
 in the plumage of a bird, its eggs or nest, we must not 
 conclude that such peculiarity is a mere accident or useless 
 decoration, for it either serves some wise end unknown to us, 
 or has done so in far past ages, and is perpetuated because 
 its possession is not distinctly harmful, and may at some 
 future date be again called into requisition against danger. 
 The extinction of nearly all birds whose existence is 
 reasonably well known has not been due to natural causes, 
 but to man or the influence his civilisation has introduced. 
 Nature never made such a mistake as the introduction of 
 rabbits and sparrows into Australia. They are two potent 
 forces turned loose into practically unrestricted space, with- 
 out any of their natural limiting influences. 
 
 Protective Colouring of Birds. The protective 
 colour of the plumage of certain birds is the great source 
 of their safety during incubation. For instance, birds 
 which nidificate on the ground, such as Black ,and Red 
 Grouse, Pheasants, Partridges, and Sandpipers, all subject 
 to the depredations of winged and creeping enemies, are 
 preserved by the modification of their tints. The same 
 
8 EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 means of security attend their eggs and downy young, 
 even the extreme simplicity of their nests aiding the escape 
 of detection. Birds whose down has protected them 
 during the early part of their history, become aware of 
 the dangers which threaten a more conspicuous plumage, 
 which is a marvellous thing, whether acquired by reasoning 
 or instinct. This is proved by the action of birds of the 
 same order. The Golden Plover, with plumage in harmony 
 with the surroundings of her nest (her feathers being still 
 further subdued in colour during the breeding season), sits 
 much closer than the Green Plover, although a shyer bird, 
 with eggs possessing the same protective qualities. The 
 Green Plover knows her plumage is much more conspicuous 
 than her eggs, and quietly slips away before danger ap- 
 proaches half so near as the golden plover will allow it. 
 
 I am surprised to find so great an authority as Darwin 
 assert that " the species which represent each other in 
 distinct countries will almost always have been exposed to 
 different conditions, but we can hardly attribute to this 
 action the modification of the plumage in the males alone, 
 seeing that the females and the young, though similarly 
 exposed, have not been affected." 
 
 Possibly such may be the case where no protective 
 modification is necessary in the female or young ; but what 
 about the fact that female Red Grouse differ much in the 
 colour of their plumage, according to the conditions under 
 which they live, though the males are left totally unaffected ? 
 Instance the female Grouse, known as the "Moss-hen/' 
 always found on the highest and most exposed situations 
 where there is little cover, consequently great need of har- 
 monising colours : a strong point, I venture to assert, in 
 favour of protective utility. 
 
EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 9 
 
 Moulting has been rendered subject to the law of 
 preservation in a remarkable degree, for where birds 
 are open to periodical changes of surrounding con- 
 ditions which materially affect their existence, they are 
 provided with an extra moult. For example, the Ptar- 
 migan's plumage is pure white for winter snow, and 
 brown for summer heather. 
 
 The stoat's fur undergoes a similar change of colour ; 
 and more marvellous still, to pursue the preservation argu- 
 ment into the water world, take a common trout, and chase 
 him up and down a shallow pool until he has become 
 thoroughly scared, and it will be found that wherever he 
 rests for a few seconds his colour will change in obedience 
 to that of the bed of the stream directly beneath him ; so 
 much so that I have known one half of a trout very dark 
 and the other half very light coloured, correspondingly with 
 objects beneath and around him. 
 
 Again, the same high authority points out that " the 
 feathers of young birds are in male and female similar to 
 the female parent when she is of a dull colour, but like the 
 male when he is dull and the female bright ; also, when both 
 parents are of a conspicuously bright colour the young take 
 a dull colour of their own " for example, Robins. He infers 
 that these colours represent those of far distant progenitors ; 
 but as safety lies in these modified tints, and preservation 
 being Nature's chief problem, it is more reasonable to suppose 
 that Nature lends this means of protection whilst the bird 
 is in its most helpless condition, for an evolution that tends 
 to increase dangerously conspicuous colours would only 
 seem to invite extinction. 
 
 In another place he says " it deserves especial attention 
 that brilliant colours have been transferred much more 
 
10 EGGS AND EGG^COLLEOTING. 
 
 rarely than other tints." Yes, simply because they are 
 generally a source of danger to the possessor. 
 
 Three familiar instances of special modifications in the 
 plumage of the female are to be found in the black grouse, 
 pheasant, and blackbird, all nidificating in situations more 
 or less fraught with danger. Remarkable again is the fact 
 that where the female is more conspicuously marked than the 
 male the latter takes upon himself the duties of incubation 
 entirely, or renders a great deal of aid, which is strong proof 
 that dull subdued colours have been adopted for the preser- 
 vation of the young in their several stages of helplessness. 
 
 Protective Construction of Nests. It is sur- 
 prising again to find Darwin, in arguing that few British 
 birds build covered nests to protect themselves against 
 the conspicuousness of their own colours, citing the 
 Dipper as an instance of this. But what about the white 
 breast of this bird, which marks it out at long distances 
 against the dark rock or water? Again, her pure white 
 eggs are manifestly a source of danger, more conspicuous 
 even than the bird. It must not be supposed I overlook 
 another important feature in the covered nest of this bird, 
 which is, however, subservient to the bird's desire to hide her 
 white plumage and eggs, which renders it equally preserva- 
 tive in character. The bird generally builds near a water- 
 fall, often quite behind, undoubtedly for the safety this 
 situation affords, and she is not only obliged to construct a 
 covered nest, but one which must keep out the constant 
 dripping of water percolating through fissures in the rock. 
 The construction of this nest even cuts off the chance of a 
 stray splash of water finding its way to the eggs or young 
 during the parent bird's absence, by the peculiarly ingenious 
 entrance she makes to her little home. 
 
EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 11 
 
 Still further, where birds are conspicuous in colour they 
 either build covered nests, or place them in such situations 
 as afford safety, and are thus equivalent. For instance, the 
 Woodpecker, Kingfisher, and Magpie, the two former having 
 a double object in the selection of a situation, firstly their 
 own eminently brilliant colours, and secondly their pure white 
 eggs. The latter building a covered nest of such materials 
 as thorns, seems to point to a strategic planning against 
 the immorality of the family to which he belongs. 
 
 Periods of Incubation and their Utility. The 
 Duck family all lay eggs white, or nearly approaching it, 
 and take the precaution to cover them carefully on leaving 
 the nest. 
 
 Some naturalists have been of opinion that this is to 
 prevent an undue escape of the heat generated by the 
 parent ; however, I am unable to find any observations to 
 prove that these birds leave their eggs for feeding purposes 
 longer than any others that hatch their young in three 
 weeks. Neither does it appear that they transmit heat better 
 or worse than birds of entirely different habits, for it takes 
 a Fowl four weeks to hatch a Duck's egg, and a Duck will 
 on the other hand hatch a Fowl's in the normal time, three 
 weeks. It appears that the period of incubation is regulated 
 with a great amount of precision by the contemplated 
 habits of life, the difficulties to be overcome, and dangers 
 to be endured, as the following facts show : 
 
 A Pigeon hatches its young out in sixteen days, and 
 by a special process and careful assiduity feeds them until 
 they are almost full grown. A Fowl, though not capable 
 of feeding her young in the same way, possesses the power 
 of defending her offspring, finding and selecting suitable 
 food, and attending to their education generally in a highei 
 
U EGGS AND EGG.COLLECTINQ. 
 
 degree than the Duck can bestow on her progeny, which 
 take four weeks to hatch. 
 
 To still further illustrate this wonderful regulating 
 principle, let us diverge for a moment from the eggs of 
 birds to those of fish, where we find things adapted with 
 incredible precision to the surrounding conditions of exist- 
 ence. I have noticed that trout living and being obliged 
 to deposit their ova in a stream subject to great variations 
 of temperature, spawn much earlier than trout in a stream 
 preserving a comparatively even temperature. The con- 
 dition of the latter in comparison with the former showed 
 unmistakably that the difference of food supply did not 
 account for it, and as the fry in both streams appeared 
 about the same time in the spring, and exhibited no 
 appreciable difference in size or strength during the 
 summer, the natural conclusion to be arrived at is that 
 the time required for hatching in each stream is contem- 
 plated and provided against in some mysterious way. 
 
 Mechanical Construction of Eggs. We now come 
 to another phase of the protective principle, even more re- 
 markable than those we have already discussed, and equally 
 useful. This is in the mechanical construction of eggs to 
 suit their situation and surrounding conditions. What an 
 admirable provision Nature has shown in placing the axis of 
 a bird's egg just where it will prevent it rolling off a flat sur- 
 face, such as a ledge of rock, when moved by the terrible gusts 
 of wind that sweep over high latitudes, or perhaps roughly 
 moved by the parent-bird suddenly fluttering off when scared. 
 
 Take, for example, the egg of the Guillemot. This is 
 so wonderfully constructed that if moved it will not roll 
 away like a marble or billiard-ball, but simply spins round 
 on its axis, in the same way as a screw or top, showing 
 
EGGS AND EQQ-COLLECTINQ 13 
 
 a wonderful adaptability to the exposed situation chosen 
 by this bird for incubation. 
 
 Birds which make round, cup-shaped nests, or incubate 
 in holes, such as the Owl and Kingfisher, for instance, 
 lay round eggs, which run no risk of rolling away and 
 being smashed. Their shape also facilitates alteration of 
 position of the parent-bird to secure an equal distribution 
 of warmth and ventilation. 
 
 Were the Guillemot and either of the latter birds to 
 change nesting situations for a while, it is probable a 
 speedy extermination of the species which adopted the flat 
 rock for the round egg would soon take place, affording a 
 beautiful illustration of the power that is also guiding the 
 action of birds under the mysterious name of instinct. 
 It is an unknown and unknowable power, yet its workings 
 are as undeniable as its results. 
 
 As a further illustration, let us take the eggs of the 
 Golden and Green Plovers, and consider for a moment 
 their size, shape, number, and colour. 
 
 All these qualities serve some well-defined and demons- 
 trably useful end. Firstly, their size is abnormally large 
 compared with that of the layer, but this is a provision 
 which supplies the necessary size and strength of the 
 young bird to enable it to cope with the surrounding con- 
 ditions of its first days of self -feeding and locomotion 
 amongst coarse grass and other obstacles. 
 
 Secondly, the shape of the egg serves to economise space, 
 an important point where the eggs are large and the bird 
 small. Thus the four pear-shaped eggs, having their small 
 ends all pointing to a common centre, practically form a 
 square, and thus enable the bird to cover them all at the 
 same time. 
 
14 EGOS AND EQQ-CQLLECTINQ. 
 
 Thirdly, the number of eggs is always four, and by 
 such limitation the form of the square is preserved, 
 and the difficulty of a small bird covering a number of 
 large eggs satisfactorily surmounted. I have often dis- 
 arranged the order of Plovers' eggs, but always found that 
 the first thing done by the bird on her return was to 
 reduce chaos to order by turning the round ends out and 
 the small ones into the centre of her little household. 
 
 Lastly, we come to the beautiful harmony of colouring 
 of the eggs with surrounding objects, rendering them often 
 very difficult to find, even by a practised eye, and the 
 scant nest still further aiding in the chances against dis- 
 covery. 
 
 The Sandpiper affords an admirable instance of the 
 assimilation of its eggs to surrounding objects, and the 
 extreme difficulty experienced in finding them attests to 
 its protective utility. 
 
 Why Eggs Vary so much in Point of Number. 
 The number of eggs laid by birds of different orders 
 seems to be regulated by the danger to which they are 
 exposed and the amount of food which the parents will be 
 able to supply. 
 
 Thus, the Eagle in its inaccessible eyrie enjoys almost 
 perfect immunity from danger, and has only two young 
 ones, for which, however, the supply of food is only equal 
 to the demand, and it is probable that one more voracious 
 appetite would seriously endanger the safety of the whole 
 family. 
 
 On the other hand, take the Common Partridge with 
 its sixteen or twenty eggs, the high percentage of its 
 dangers, and the generally abundant supply of food. 
 
 Again, the Swift, on its untiring wings for sixteen 
 
EGOS AND EQG-COLLECTINQ. 15 
 
 hours a day, avoids the majority of dangers which threaten 
 less favoured birds, and only lays two eggs, in a position 
 very few other birds could adopt, yet one which secures her 
 little household the amount of safety necessary for the due 
 survival of the species. However, with her limited family, 
 dexterity on the wing, and enduring powers, she seems to 
 have no leisure time during the period her young require 
 feeding. As an opposite, take the House Sparrow, with 
 its five or six eggs, innumerable dangers, and easy access 
 to food, and it must be confessed these things are ordered 
 by a power of infinite wisdom. 
 
 Curious Nesting-Places. The general situation and 
 locality in which each bird's nest is likely to be found 
 are mentioned in dealing with the bird under its separate 
 heading ; however, it may not be uninteresting to chronicle 
 a few of the most remarkable and well-authenticated de- 
 partures from accepted rules. 
 
 I have myself found a Dipper's nest on the branch of a 
 tree twelve or thirteen feet from the water and twenty from 
 the bank. This nest was of ordinary shape and size, its mate- 
 rial being of the same kind as others, and securely fastened 
 amongst the prongs of the branch like a Missel Thrush's. 
 When the parent bird was disturbed she dived into the pool 
 "below to make her escape (a habit invariably adopted 
 when nesting in an ordinary position). She reared her 
 young in safety, however, in spite of the awkward situa- 
 tion she had selected, and I have every reason to believe 
 got them off without mishap. I have also found a Thrush's 
 nest on the ground, precisely in the position a Lark selects. 
 
 House Sparrows furnish many examples of curious 
 situations adopted for incubatory purposes. Not long 
 ago a pair of these birds built their nest, and success- 
 
16 EGOS AND EGQ '-COLLECTING. 
 
 fully hatched a brood, in the cartridge-box of a 
 cannon which was fired twice daily in the Gun Park at 
 Woolwich. It is a notable fact that in some parts of the 
 country Sparrows build extensively in trees, whilst in 
 others such a circumstance is unknown. Some ornith- 
 ologists are of opinion that it is an hereditary habit, 
 others supposing that it is resorted to for the sake of cool- 
 ness in hot weather; but a reason I incline to is that in 
 parts of the country where houses and out-buildings are 
 made of stone the birds find ample accommodation in 
 joints, crevices, and crannies where the mortar has been dis- 
 lodged, and are therefore not driven to the necessity of 
 adopting trees, like birds found in districts where the 
 houses are made of bricks, consequently closer, and afford- 
 ing less opportunity for nest-building. This bird, besides 
 its noted pugnacity, is an arrant rogue, and invariably 
 takes advantage of the House Martin's labour. I have 
 known a house with twenty nests all close together under 
 its eaves, about half of which were occupied by Sparrows, 
 which had, in some cases where the nests were new, been 
 actually watched ejecting the eggs of the original 
 owners. 
 
 The Robin is noted for its caprice in the selection of a 
 nesting site, and has been found hatching its eggs in 
 nearly every conceivable situation, from the ordinary mossy 
 bank to the pocket of a gardener's old coat which had 
 been hanging undisturbed for several weeks in a tool- 
 house. Old kettles, water-cans, inverted plant pots, &c., 
 in buildings close to machinery in daily motion, and other 
 equally curious places, are by no means rare occurrences. 
 A case is recorded of a Robin's nest having been built in 
 the hole made by a cannon-ball through the mizzen-mast 
 
EGGS AND EQG -COLLECTING. 17 
 
 against which Lord Nelson was standing when he received 
 his death-wound on board the Victory. 
 
 Swallows have also been known to adopt quite foreign 
 situations for breeding purposes, such as holes in trees, 
 and even openly on the branches. 
 
 Cases are known of the Starling building its nest 
 down holes in the earth, and also quite exposed in trees, 
 similar to the nest of the Sparrow. It has also been 
 found going shares with a Magpie. 
 
 The Pied Wagtail occasionally chooses strange quarters, 
 one case being on record of a pair building beneath a rail- 
 way switch, over which trains passed nearly every hour in 
 the day within a few inches of the nest. 
 
 The roof of a house in Hull was once selected by 
 two pairs of Rooks for nidification, and proved a successful 
 choice, for they managed to build nests and rear their 
 young. 
 
 The Common Wild Duck is also liable to depart widely 
 from her usual habit in the selection of a site for her nest, 
 sometimes adopting a Crow's nest, and even the tower of 
 a church, which latter has occasioned much speculation 
 amongst naturalists as to how the parent bird managed 
 to convey her progeny safely to water. 
 
 The Flycatcher is amongst the foremost of our eccentric 
 birds in the choice of breeding quarters, its nest having 
 been found in street lamps in different parts of the country, 
 and in one instance on the head of a hoe hanging against 
 the wall of a tool-house. The nest was removed whilst 
 the hoe was being used, and, when replaced, the birds, 
 instead of deserting it, resumed operations, and eventually 
 reared their brood. 
 
 Another very interesting curiosity of recent date 
 
18 EGOS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 occurred in the neighbourhood of Skegness, where a pair 
 of Marsh Titmice selected a farmer's letter-box for incuba- 
 tion purposes, and although it was opened twice daily, and 
 the materials with which the birds began to build were 
 several times cleared away, they doggedly persisted in their 
 efforts, and eventually succeeded in making a nest and 
 depositing the usual number of eggs. 
 
 One of the strangest cases of all, and I should think 
 the most remarkable on well authenticated record, recently 
 occurred near Colchester, where a pair of Common Wrens 
 built their nest inside the skeleton of a hooded crow, which 
 had been brought to justice and hung up as a warning to 
 other winged depredators. 
 
 These odd positions and situations are evidently not 
 chosen for purposes of concealment from man, at any rate ; 
 indeed, it is a question whether some of them are not 
 adopted to secure the advantage his presence affords against 
 the incursions o predatory birds and animals. And, on 
 the other hand, if these seeming departures from instinct 
 be admitted as due to reason, it seems strange that whilst 
 some birds are capable of this, others exhibit what seems 
 to human understanding profound stupidity. I have 
 known birds vainly try to build in positions where it was 
 impossible for a nest to rest, each piece of material falling 
 to the ground, until sufficient had been collected for a great 
 many nests ; yet the bird kept on collecting sticks, moss, 
 and grasses, until probably she was obliged to drop her 
 eggs in the fields. This is not a solitary instance, nor 
 only once attempted, for close observation proved that the 
 same inexplicably vain effort was continued from year to 
 year, but whether by the same birds or not it is of course 
 impossible to say. 
 
JEQQ8 AND EQG-COLIECTINQ. 19 
 
 Some birds show a remarkable love for the same situa- 
 tion, in which they nest year after year for an incredible 
 length of time. The same place is known to have been used 
 by falcons for about a century and a quarter, and likely to 
 continue if the birds are not molested. Blue Titmice are 
 known to have selected the same quarters over a hundred 
 years in unbroken succession. 
 
 On Forming a Collection. My concluding remarks 
 will be devoted to the guidance of such as require to make 
 a collection of eggs. 
 
 Keep close watch on the building operations of the 
 birds whose eggs are required. Dippers, Thrushes, and 
 many others commence early in the spring, especially after 
 a mild winter. 
 
 Take only one specimen, and not until you have reason 
 to believe the bird has done laying. Never under any cir- 
 cumstances take an egg when you have ground to suppose 
 incubation has commenced, or is in an advanced stage, for 
 besides the cruelty of the thing, it will often be of no use. 
 
 The specimen being secured, it is taken for granted the 
 collector is furnished with the necessary drill and blow- 
 pipe, procurable at any naturalist's shop. The next pro- 
 ceeding is to drill a small hole exactly on the side of 
 the egg, selecting that of a spotted one with the least 
 characteristic marks on it. Then insert the end of the 
 blow-pipe, or rather direct the current of air sent through 
 it into the hole made, being careful with small eggs 
 not to burst them, or squeeze them until they collapse 
 under the pressure of the fingers. When the contents 
 have been emptied wash the egg out with clean water, 
 introduced through the blow-pipe, being careful not to 
 wet the outside more than necessary, or rub it too 
 
20 EQQ8 AND EGQ-COLLECTINQ. 
 
 much, as the beautiful colouring of many eggs is 
 easily displaced. When the egg has been blown, and 
 properly dried inside and out, an operation needing some 
 care, the hole should be covered over with a neat piece of 
 gummed paper, on which the name of the specimen may be 
 written, this being found especially useful when eggs of 
 different kinds get mixed. 
 
 A small label should also be attached to the compart- 
 ment allotted to each egg in the cabinet, bearing the 
 name, locality in which it was found, and date, as such 
 memoranda are often very useful, and inculcate habits 
 of systematic study and storage of information sometimes 
 impossible to remember. Besides this, a very good plan is 
 to keep a note-book in which to enter such particulars and 
 data concerning each specimen as may prove of utility or 
 interest in the study of oology. 
 
 Of course it is impossible to obtain many specimens, 
 which are seldom or never found in certain districts, there- 
 fore it is necessary to buy such eggs, or exchange through 
 the medium of advertisement, with collectors equally glad 
 to avail themselves of such an arrangement. 
 
 I have no doubt about the pleasure a study of the 
 subject affords, and if my little book assists to heighten it 
 in any way I shall be satisfied. 
 
 U. KEARTON 
 
BIRDS' NESTS AND EGGS 
 
 THE GOLDFINCH. 
 
 HIS beautiful little bird 
 builds a nest of the first 
 rank in point of constructive 
 skill and neatness. Though it 
 breeds at a surprisingly rapid 
 rate, it is a regrettable fact to 
 learn that its numbers are 
 gradually becoming smaller 
 in this country, and mainly 
 through the profit its cap- 
 ture affords. Despite being 
 much harassed by the bird- 
 catching fraternity to supply 
 the demand for it as a cage 
 pet, if not actually approving 
 of confinement, it seems to 
 prefer the close proximity of 
 man, often selecting as a 
 nesting situation gardens and 
 orchards, and has even been 
 known to build in rose-bushes 
 and other trees trained against 
 
EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 a dwelling-house. The nest is composed of moss, a little 
 hay and wool, lined with seed-down of the willow and 
 hair neatly woven together. The eggs are four or five in 
 number ; white, tinged with blue, and spotted at the larger 
 end with raw sienna. 
 
 THE MAGPIE. 
 
 THE Magpie builds her nest on the tops of very tall trees, 
 but it has sometimes been found in comparatively small 
 bushes. It is large, domed, and almost spherical in 
 shape, composed of brambles, thorny sticks, clay, and finer 
 sticks, and lined inside with dead grass and fibrous roots ; 
 it has a hole on the side. She lays six or seven eggs of a 
 dirty light blue, spotted with yellowish-brown all over. 
 
 THE BULLFINCH. 
 
 THIS bird lays four or five eggs of a pale blue colour, 
 spotted and streaked with raw sienna, brown, or purple. 
 The nest is made of twigs and fibrous roots, and lined with 
 horsehair ; it is situated in thick garden and other hedges. 
 The female sits very close, so that she may even be touched 
 without leaving the nest. 
 
 THE STARLING. 
 
 THE Starling makes her nest of hay, straw, and fibrous 
 roots ; her favourite haunts are the gable-ends of old houses, 
 cliffs, and hollow trees. She lays four or five eggs of a 
 beautiful light blue, tinged with green. If she is left un- 
 disturbed, she will use the same nest for several years, with 
 a little repairing each spring. She is very affectionate to 
 
EGQS AND EGQ-COLLECTINQ. 23 
 
 her young, and works in hearty co-operation with her mate 
 to procure them food, which is an enormous quantity in the 
 course of a day. 
 
 THE CHAFFINCH. 
 
 THE Chaffinch generally builds her nest in the forks of 
 trees covered with lichens ; it is made of moss, wool, and 
 lichen, the inside being lined with hair and feathers. She 
 makes a beautiful nest, small but deep, and it harmonizes 
 so much with its situation that it is often difficult to find. 
 She lays four or five eggs of a grayish-blue, spotted and 
 streaked with a dirty purple-red. She sits very close, in 
 fact I once knew a bird remain on her nest till a mis- 
 chievous boy caught her by the tail, pulling it out as she 
 rose to fly ; and she returned and reared her young after 
 that. 
 
 THE RAVEN. 
 
 THE Raven lays five or six eggs of a gray-green ground 
 colour, spotted and blotched with a darker greenish or 
 smoky brown. She builds her nest in high, inaccessible 
 rocks and cliffs, either on the sea-shore or inland, and it is 
 sometimes found on the tops of lofty trees. It is composed 
 of sticks of various sizes and kinds, wool, and hair 
 
 THE LINNET. 
 
 THIS little bird lays from four to six eggs of a whitish faint 
 blue tinge, speckled with purple-red, and her 'nest is com- 
 posed of moss, bent fibrous roots, and wool, lined inside 
 with hair and feathers. She builds in whitethorn, black- 
 thorn, and furze bushes ; very rarely in trees. 
 
24 EGGS AKD EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 THE ROOK. 
 
 THE Rook lays four or five eggs of a pale green colour, 
 spotted and blotched with greenish or smoky brown. She 
 makes her nest of sticks, straw, hay, &c., and is rather 
 particular about it, pulling it to pieces and rebuilding it 
 several times. Tall trees are usually selected, generally 
 near to some mansion or village, where the rooks form a 
 colony. This bird lays very early, and has been known 
 to commence sitting even in November. 
 
 THE COMMON WREN. 
 
 THIS little bird lays four to eight eggs of a yellowish- 
 white tinge, spotted at the larger end with a kind of 
 brownish -red. It builds several supplementary nests, 
 which are simply made of moss and lichen ; this is at- 
 tributed to the male bird by some naturalists; but how- 
 ever this may be, as a rule two of these nests will be found 
 to one of the others lined with feathers, which is intended 
 for incubation. The nest is built in old barns, on the 
 sides of cliffs, and in the roots of trees growing from high 
 banks ; it is dome-shaped, and has a very small entrance. 
 
 THE JAY. 
 
 THE Jay lays five or six eggs of a pale greenish-blue, 
 sometimes yellowish-white, thickly spotted with minute 
 brown spots, generally confluent on the larger end, where 
 there are several irregular black lines. She builds her nest 
 in the thickest parts of woods, where it may be well out of 
 sight. It is composed of sticks, small twigs, small fibrous 
 roots, and grass. 
 
EGGS. 
 
 I. Jay. 2. Sparrow. 3. Jackdaw. 4. Grouse. 5. Kestrel. 6. Robin. 
 7. Redpoll. 8. Ringdove. 9. Wryneck. 
 
SGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 25 
 
 THE HOUSE SPARROW. 
 
 THIS familiar little bird builds her nest in the walls of old 
 stone houses, at the back of spouting, and amongst ivy. 
 It is particularly fond of ejecting the Martin from her 
 carefully-built home, and has been even known to turn 
 out the carers of this little harmless bird. She lavs five or 
 
 oo J 
 
 six eggs, of a dirty white, covered with black or dark 
 brown spots. 
 
 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 
 majr 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, some- 
 times with a bluish tinge, thickly covered with reddish- 
 
2 EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 brown blotches. She generally makes no nest at all, 
 but scratches a hollow in the soft earth on a ledge o rock 
 situated on high mountain or sea cliffs. The deserted nest 
 of the crow is sometimes utilised. 
 
 THE EOBIN. 
 
 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. 
 
EGGS. 
 
 i. Golden-crested Wren. 2. Whitethroat. 3. Siskin. 4. Thrush. 5. Greenfinch. 
 6. Redstart. 7. Great Tit. 8. Teal 9. Blackbird. 
 
EOOS AND EQG-COLLECTINQ. 27 
 
 THE WEYNECK. 
 
 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 consider- 
 able 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 
 
28 EGOS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 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. 
 
I. Nuthatch. 2. Sea Gull. 3. Woodpecker. 4. Kingfisher. 5. Moorhen. 
 6. Nightingale. 7. Lapwing. 8. Barn Owl. 9. Crossbill. 
 
EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 29 
 
 THE BLACKBIRD. 
 
 THE Blackbird builds her nest in stone walls, holly bushes, 
 hedges, and amongst ivy. It is made with small twigs, 
 roots, and cow-dung or clay intermixed, and lined inside 
 with very fine slender grass. She has been known to try 
 to build on the side of a cliff, where the sticks, &c., would 
 not remain, but have fallen down until there was enough 
 to make half-a-dozen nests, yet the bird continued to bring 
 fresh material. She lays four, five, and rarely six eggs of a 
 dull bluish-green, spotted all over with brown blotches. 
 
 THE GREAT TIT. 
 
 THE eggs of this bird are from six to twelve in number ; 
 their colour is white, spotted with a reddish-brown. The 
 nest is composed of moss, feathers, and hair, and is situated 
 in holes in walls and trees. The bird has been known to 
 make these holes herself in the trunk of a tree, working 
 with great diligence and rapidity until she had finished. 
 
 THE TEAL. 
 
 THE Teal builds its nest where rushes are abundant, chiefly 
 on marshes in Scotland and the north of England. The 
 nest is composed of large quantities of dried sedges, flags, 
 and other water plants, and is lined with feathers. The 
 bird lays eight or ten eggs, which are buffish or creamy- 
 white, sometimes faintly tinged with green. 
 
 THE NUTHATCH. 
 
 THIS bird lays from five to seven eggs in number, of a 
 pure white spotted with red-brown. They are very often 
 mistaken for the eggs of the Great Titmouse. The nest 
 
JO EOG8 AND EQO-COLLEGTim. 
 
 is made of the dried leaves of the oak, apple, elm, &c., 
 carelessly arranged. It is situated in a hole of a decaying 
 tree, and if too large at the entrance the bird plasters it up 
 until she can just get in and out comfortably. 
 
 THE COMMON SEA-GULL. 
 
 THIS bird lays two, and sometimes three eggs, of a pale 
 green or a yellowish-white colour, irregularly blotched 
 with gray and blackish-brown. Her nest is made of sea- 
 weed, dry grass, &c., and is found on sea cliffs and bold 
 rocky headlands, such as St. Abb's Head in Berwickshire. 
 
 THE GREEN WOODPECKER. 
 
 THE eggs of this bird are three or four in number, of a 
 very light bluish-tinged white colour. Her nest is made 
 entirely of the pieces of wood chipped off by the bird in 
 her boring operations. It is placed in the trunk of a tree, 
 frequently in a hole which the bird herself has previously 
 excavated, and perhaps used before. She seems to have 
 a particular liking for the aspen and black poplar tree. 
 
 THE KINGFISHER. 
 
 THIS bird lays six or seven eggs, nearly round, white and 
 shining. When fresh and unblown, the yolk shows through 
 the shell, and gives it a beautiful pink colour, something 
 similar to the Dipper's, but more clear and vivid. The 
 nest is composed of the bones of fishes, and is generally 
 in the Sandmartin's previous excavations, about three or 
 four feet above the usual surface of the water. 
 
SGG8 AND EGO-COLLECTING. 31 
 
 THE MOORHEN. 
 
 THE eggs of this familiar and semi-domestic bird are from 
 eight to ten in number, of a pale brownish-grey, spotted 
 with umber-brown. This bird, like the duck, when leaving 
 the nest covers her eggs with flags and reeds, of which also 
 the nest is made. She builds among the sedges on the 
 banks of streams and ponds, and sometimes in trees. 
 Nests have often been found in willow-branches which 
 touch and float upon the water. 
 
 THE NIGHTINGALE. 
 
 THE eggs of this bird are from four to six in number, and 
 are usually of a yellowish olive-brown colour, unspotted, 
 but are occasionally found blue. Her nest is made of dried 
 leaves, lined inside with fine grass. It is situated on the 
 ground in woods and shrubberies, especially on the little 
 banks at the foot of trees, under the shelter of ferns or 
 weeds. 
 
 THE LAPWING. 
 
 THE Lapwing, or Green Plover, makes a very simple nest, 
 only scratching a hole and lining it with bent or short 
 grass. She generally makes it on a little knoll, so that it 
 may be out of danger of being deluged, as her home is 
 generally in swampy marshy land. She lays four eggs of a 
 dirty-green ground, blotched all over with dark brown 
 spots, and the colour harmonises so well with the ground, 
 that it is sometimes very difficult for the collector to see 
 them even when looking close to where they are. 
 
 THE BARN OWL. 
 
 THE Barn Owl lays two eggs at a time, that is, lays two 
 and hatches them, and lays again, even to a second and 
 
32 EOOS AND EGQ-COLLECTINQ. 
 
 third time, before the first have flown. They are white 
 and unspotted. She makes a very slight nest of sticks., 
 hay, and sometimes of her own cast-off feathers. She 
 select barns, old ruins, hollow trees, and crevices of rocks, 
 overshadowed by ivy or creeping plants. 
 
 THE CKOSSBILL. 
 
 THIS bird lays four or five eggs of a white colour, tinged 
 with pale blue, resembling the colour of skim -milk, and 
 speckled with red, but only very sparingly. Her nest is 
 made of twigs, grass, and sometimes lined with a few 
 long hairs. She builds mostly among the branches of 
 the Scotch fir, the nest being generally close to the boll 
 or stem. 
 
 THE WOODLARK. 
 
 UNLIKE its congener, the Skylark, this bird is limited 
 to certain localities in our islands. Whilst it is fairly 
 abundant in some districts, it is seldom or never seen in 
 others. It is highly esteemed as a song-bird, and conse- 
 quently suffers at the hands of professional bird-catchers, 
 especially as its young begin to carol at an early period of 
 their existence. Its nest is situated on the ground, usually 
 well concealed beneath a tuft of grass or low plant, and 
 is composed of grass, bents, moss, and hairs, the coarser 
 material used on the outside and the finer to line the 
 interior. The eggs are four or five in number, of a lighter 
 ground colour than the Skylark's eggs, thickly speckled 
 with reddish-brown, the spots sometimes, but rarely, 
 forming a zone at the larger end. 
 
I. Woodlark. 2. Nightjar. 3. Stormv Petrel. 4. Stonechat. 5. Capercailzie. 
 6. Bittern. 7. Merlin. 8. Little Grebe. 9. Wheatear. 
 
EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 33 
 
 THE MERLIN. 
 
 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^ccording 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 NIGHTJAR. 
 
 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 har. 
 monises so well with her surroundings, that, unless one 
 happens to detect her beautiful large eye, the chances are 
 very much against finding her nest. 
 
34 EOGS AND EGQ-COILECTINQ. 
 
 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 some- 
 times 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 WHEATEAR. 
 
 A SHELTERED and darkened situation is generally chosen by 
 the "Wheatear 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. 
 
EGGS. 
 
 i. Pied Flycatcher. 2. Meadow Pipit. 3. Tree Pipit. 4- Dunlin. 5- Landrail, 
 6. Skua. 7. Wigeon. 8. Golden Plover. 9. Skylark. 
 
EGOS AND EOO-COLLECT1N&. 35 
 
 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 tut't 
 of bents, a projecting piece of earth or stone. Its where- 
 abouts 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 remark- 
 ably close to each other. The eggs number from four to 
 six j 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 
 
16 EQGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 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 ap- 
 proached. 
 
 THE PIED FLYCATCHER. 
 
 THIS bird seems to resort annually to the same locality, 
 and use the same nest year after year, which is com- 
 posed 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 
 
 THE DUNLIN. 
 
 THE nesting-place of the Dunlin is on the sea-beach, 
 among the shingle, heather, or long grass at the mouth of 
 
EQGS AND EQG-COLIECTING. 87 
 
 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 SKYLARK. 
 
 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. How- 
 ever, 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 
 
38 EGOS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 colour of the eggs is stone or cream, spotted and blotched 
 with umber or blackish-brown, of various sizes and shapes. 
 
 THE LANDRAIL. 
 
 THE position selected by the Landrail for her nest is on the 
 ground, amongst grass, underwood, clover, or corn. It IB 
 loosely constructed of dry herbage. Her eggs vary greatly 
 in number, from seven, eight, or nine to as many as fifteen, 
 and are of a dingy white, suffused with a reddish tinge, 
 freckled and spotted with red, brown, and purplish-grey. 
 
 THE WIGEON. 
 
 THIS bird has been known to breed in Scotland and Ire- 
 land, but its favourite places are Scandinavia, Finland, and 
 Northern Russia. The nest is placed in a clump of rushes 
 or a tuft of heather, its materials being reeds and decayed 
 rushes, with a beautiful inner lining of down off the parent 
 bird, which lays from seven to ten creamy-white eggs, of 
 a very oval shape. Broods have been hatched at different 
 times in the Zoological Gardens. 
 
 THE COMMON SKUA. 
 
 NIDIFICATION is carried on by the Skua in companies, in 
 the Shetland Islands only. The nest is placed on the 
 ground, and. is made of dead ling, moss, and dry grass, in 
 which are deposited two eggs only, of varying colour. Some 
 are of a dark olive brown, whilst others are of a greener 
 tint, with black-brown spots, intermixed with small speckles 
 of a whitish or rusty colour. 
 
i. Sand Martin. 2. Little Stint. 3. Long-eared Owl. 4 . Kite. 5 - Lesser White-throat. 
 6. Redwing. 7. Shieldrake. 8. Sandpiper. 9. Redshank. 
 
EGGS AND EGO-COLLECTING. 39 
 
 THE KITE. 
 
 THIS bird locates its nest in a strong fork o some tall tree, 
 building* it with sticks and whatever softer material she 
 can come at without much trouble, such as wool, &c. The 
 eggs number three, and are of a grey or dirty white, 
 spotted and blotched with dull red or orange-brown, the 
 spots predominating at the larger end. 
 
 THE RED-SHANK. 
 
 THE nest of the Red-shank is situated amidst a tuft of grass, 
 or in a small hole sheltered by the surrounding herbage, and 
 is constructed of a few blades of fine dry grass lightly put 
 together. She lays four eggs of a cream or straw colour, 
 blotched and speckled with dark brown, the spots being 
 very variable, but generally forming a belt or zone at the 
 
 larger end. 
 
 THE SAND-MARTIN. 
 
 As denoted by the name, the nesting-place of the Sand- 
 martin is at the extremity of a deep hole, which the bird 
 excavates for herself in some sandbank, generally near a 
 river. The nest is constructed of straw, hay, or dead 
 rushes, whichever may be found in the locality where the 
 bird is breeding, and lined with feathers. The eggs are 
 from four to six in number, of an elongated shape, the 
 extreme thinness of the shell giving them a pinky appear- 
 ance, but when blown they are a beautiful white. 
 
 THE LITTLE STINT. 
 
 THIS bird does not breed in the British Isles, but in 
 Northern Europe and Asia. The nest is situated on the 
 ground, and is very similar in construction to that of most 
 
40 EGOS AND EGO-COLLECTING. 
 
 of the Sandpiper species, being a natural depression in the 
 ground, with a lining of dead leaves, or other such material 
 as may be procured within easy reach of the place chosen. 
 The eggs are four in number, of varying ground colour, 
 from pale brown to pale greenish-grey, spotted and blotched 
 with rich brown, the spots generally confluent at the 
 larger end ; but the colour is probably subject to as many 
 Tariations as the Dunlin's eggs, already described. 
 
 THE LONG-EARED OWL. 
 
 LIKE the Hawk tribe generally, this bird manifests an un- 
 mistakable dislike for maternal labour, as she contents 
 herself with the old nest of a Crow, Magpie, or the 
 abandoned home of a Squirrel. Some collectors give the 
 number of eggs as from three to seven ; but four or five 
 is the general rule, and numbers above the last figure 
 quoted the exception. The eggs are white, and almost as 
 blunt at one end as the other. 
 
 THE SHIELDRAKE. 
 
 THE labours of the Rabbit are utilised by the Shieldrake, 
 and almost indispensable to her for incubation purposes, 
 as she deposits dried flags, bents, reeds, and a liberal 
 quantity of down, plucked from her own body, at the bottom 
 of a deep burrow, after having enlarged and improved it to 
 suit her purpose. She lays from eight even to twice that 
 number of eggs, of a very smooth, roundish, oblong shape. 
 They are cream colour, or nearly white in colour. 
 
 THE REDWING. 
 
 THIS bird very rarely builds in the British Isles, but 
 abundantly in Norway, Sweden, and other high latitudes 
 
EGOS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 41 
 
 visited by it during the summer. Its nest is very similar 
 to that of the ordinary Ring Ouzel or Blackbird, and is 
 located in the middle of a dense bush. The eggs number 
 from four to six, and are somewhat like those of the Field- 
 fare, only not so large. It would take a very clever con- 
 noisseur to pick out the egg of the Blackbird, Ring Ouzel, 
 Fieldfare, and Redwing from some specimens without 
 making a mistake, so much alike are they in colour, size, 
 and shape. 
 
 THE SANDPIPER. 
 
 ON the banks of a river, lake, or tarn, this familiar little 
 bird locates its nest, generally choosing some natural de- 
 pression, where it will be protected by a projecting grass 
 tuft, though I have found its nest on the bare ground, and 
 once on a tiny piece of grass amongst a lot of rocks. The 
 nest is lined with dead rushes, leaves, and fine grass. The 
 eggs number four, of a creamy yellow or stone colour, with 
 light brown spots and blotches, as it were, in the shell, 
 and dark brown on the surface. 
 
 THE LESSER WHITE-THROAT. 
 
 THE situation chosen by the Lesser Whitethroat for its 
 nest is amongst brambles, low bushes, and nettles, build- 
 ing it of grass, bents, and an inner lining of horsehairs. 
 The eggs number four or five, and are white, with a greenish 
 tendency, spotted, chiefly at the larger end, with ash and 
 light umber brown. 
 
 THE RUFF. 
 
 THIS bird, like the Snipe and Red-shank, makes her nest in 
 wet, swampy places, using only the coarse grass found on 
 
42 EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 the spot. Like its congeners, it only lays four eggs, very 
 similar in ground colour and marking to the two birds 
 quoted above, varying from stone-colour to olive-green, 
 blotched and speckled with rich brown and liver-coloured 
 spots. 
 
 THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 
 
 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 ; Green- 
 land, 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 Scot- 
 land, 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. 
 
EGGS. 
 
 i. 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. 
 
EQGS AND EGO-COLLECTING 43 
 
 THE GRASSHOPPER WARBLER. 
 
 THE nest of this shy little summer visitor is usually weD 
 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 skilful and daring cragsman can with diffi- 
 culty 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 Fame Islands, and on 
 the shores of Norway and Sweden, in great numbers. The 
 nest is made of dried grasses, weeds, &c. ; and as the pro- 
 cess 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 
 
44 EGOS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 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 CAEEION 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. 
 
 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 
 
x. Carrion Crow. 2. Swallow. 3. Sparrow-Hawk. 4. Blue Tit. 5. Blackcap. 
 6. Partridge. 7. Wild Duck. 8. Cuckoo, q. Pheasant. 
 
EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 45 
 
 even in old chimneys, but it is my opinion that they onty 
 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 SPAEROW-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 obser- 
 vation have in every instance been built by the Sparrow- 
 hawk herself. 
 
46 EGOS AND EGO-COLLECTING. 
 
 THE BLUE TIT. 
 
 BLUE TITS lay from seven to nine eggs, of a white under- 
 ground, spotted with red-brown all over, but more nume- 
 rously 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. 
 
 FROM ten to twenty eggs are laid by the Partridge, of a 
 pale yellow-brown, without any spots. There has been 
 some diversity of opinion as to the time of hatching, some 
 holding that the third week of June is the time, whilst 
 others say the middle of the following month; but I 
 think that the locality in which the bird is found has 
 something to do with this difference of time. She does 
 not make any nest worth speaking about, merely scratch- 
 ing and trampling the grass, weeds, &c., down. Her nest 
 is situated on the ground in standing grass, cornfields, 
 among brackens, weeds, &c. a mostly in arable districts 
 
EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 47 
 
 She sits very closely, indeed so closely that I have known 
 her head cut clean off as she sat on her nest in a field of 
 grass which was being mown. 
 
 THE WILD DUCK. 
 
 THE nest of the Wild Duck is composed of grass, inter- 
 mixed and lined with down, and is generally situated on 
 the ground near the margin of rivers or lakes, to enable 
 the mother to lead her progeny to the water immediately 
 they are hatched. However, there are numerous exceptions 
 to the usual site of her nest, as it is occasionally found 
 occupying deserted Crows' nests, or built on pollard 
 willows, and has even been found in such an exceptionally 
 odd situation as a church tower, from whence she managed 
 to convey her young in safety. These elevated nesting- 
 places have given rise to much variance of opinion amongst 
 naturalists as to how the parent bird carries her progeny 
 to the water; some contending that she conveys them 
 in her feet, others, in her beak, &c. 
 
 This habit of the bird, however, is quite familiar to the 
 Laplanders, who prepare wooden cylinders, which they stop 
 at each end, leaving a hole in the side, and elevate on poles, 
 to entice the duck, which does not hesitate to avail itself 
 of such convenient accommodation; thus the wily Lap- 
 lander is enriched with a good store of eggs for breakfast. 
 The Hawk-Owl often takes a fancy to the situation, and 
 appropriates it for nidification purposes, paying dearly for 
 his intrusion when the owner of the cylinder comes round 
 to collect his dues. 
 
 The eggs of the Wild Duck number from eight to 
 fifteen, of a greenish-white colour, smooth on the surface. 
 
48 EOO& AND EGG-COLLECTINQ. 
 
 THE CUCKOO. 
 
 THE Cuckoo seems to think he was born to do nothing 
 else but tell and re-tell 
 
 " His name to all the lulls ;" 
 
 for he neither makes a nest nor troubles to rear his young, 
 but leaves them to the tender mercies of unpaid nurses, 
 being partial to the Wagtail, Hedge-sparrow, and Meadow 
 Pipit, who are so affectionate that they have been known 
 to follow and feed the young Cuckoo in a cage. Only one 
 egg is found in a nest, which is of a reddish-grey, with a 
 darker belt formed of numerous confluent spots at the 
 thick end of the egg, but they are very variable. 
 
 THE PHEASANT. 
 
 PHEASANTS lay from eight to thirteen eggs of a pale olive- 
 green or brown, without spots. Their nests are composed 
 chiefly of the dried grass where it is situated, which is on 
 the ground amongst weeds, coarse grass, or scrub, in the 
 outskirts of woods. It has, however, been found occupying 
 a Squirrel's drey in a Scotch fir, where she hatched her 
 young, but did not rear them, as from some cause or other 
 they died in the nest. This bird is polygamous. 
 
 THE PIED WAGTAIL. 
 
 THE nest of this bird is situated in holes in stone walls, 
 bridges, crevices of rocks, quarries, &c. I remember on 
 
i. Pied Wagtail. 2. Heron, 3. Woodcock. 4. Swift. 5. Black-headed Gull. 
 6. Snipe. 7. Chiff-Chaff. 8. Martin. 9. Hedge Sparrow. 
 
EQQ8 AND EGG ^-COLLECTING. & 
 
 one occasion finding one in the stump of a rotten tree 
 which had broken off about eleven feet from the ground ; 
 they are also found in pollard willows. The nest is chiefly 
 composed of moss, small fine grass, fibrous roots, wool, 
 horse and cow-hair. The eggs number from four to six, 
 and are of a grey colour, speckled with light umber-brown. 
 
 THE HERON. 
 
 THE Heron lays four or five eggs of a pale blue, with a 
 tinge of green. Her nest is composed of a very liberal 
 collection of sticks, and is lined in the interior with wool, 
 and occasionally rags. It is situated on the tops of high 
 trees. Like the Rooks, Herons build in societies, which 
 are called heronries. 
 
 THE WOODCOCK. 
 
 THE Woodcock lays four eggs of a yellow-white colour, 
 blotched with pale chestnut-brown. Her nest is generally 
 found amongst the underwood at the foot of a tree, where 
 she does not appear to try to avoid its being seen, but 
 scratches a slight hollow, lining it with dead leaves and 
 the withered fronds of the bracken. Although the great 
 bulk of these birds are migrants, it is now proved beyond 
 doubt that many are bred yearly in this country. Like 
 the Partridge, Grouse, &c., the young leave the nest as 
 soon as hatched, and are most carefully looked after by the 
 parent bird. 
 
 D 
 
50 X008 AND EGG-COLLECTING 
 
 THE SWIFT. 
 
 THE Swift is the garret-lodger of nature, for she builds 
 her nest in the very highest crevices and holes in steeples, 
 towers, chimneys, rocks, and occasionally, like the Martin, 
 under the eaves of inhabited houses. Her nest is com- 
 posed of hay, straw, and feathers, in somewhat sparse 
 quantities, which she appears to solder or cement to the 
 stone and to each other with a glutinous substance elabo- 
 rated by glands peculiar to certain birds of this genus. 
 She lays two or three white unspotted eggs of a rather 
 long oval shape. 
 
 THE BLACK-HEADED GULL. 
 
 THIS bird generally lays three eggs, four being occa- 
 sionally found, of a pale olive-green or pale umber-brown, 
 blotched with black-brown or dark grey; however, they 
 are very variable in ground colour, sometimes being of a 
 bluish-white, unspotted. The nest is loosely built of the 
 tops of sedges, reeds, or rushes, and is placed about a foot 
 or more above the surface of the water or swamp. She is 
 fond of low marshy districts, such as Norfolk, Kent, Essex, 
 and some parts of Lincolnshire, and I have frequently 
 found her round the edges of high mountain tarns in the 
 Pennine range. 
 
 THE SNIPE. 
 
 THE Snipe generally lays four eggs, rather large for her 
 size, of a grey colour, tinged with yellow or olive-green, 
 and blotched with umber or rusty brown, of two shades, 
 
BQGS AND EQQ -COLLECTING. 51 
 
 more thickly towards the larger end. The eggs are 
 sharply pointed, and invariably placed with the small ends 
 together in the middle. Her nest is placed in a slight 
 depression in the earth, which she lines with withered grass, 
 rushes, or dried heather. It is situated in long grass, 
 rushes, or amongst heather, near to tarns, swamps, bogs, 
 and other places suitable to the habitat of the bird. 
 
 THE CHIFFCHAFF. 
 
 THIS bird lays five, six, or seven eggs of white ground, 
 dotted with brown or blackish-purple spots, predominating 
 at the larger end ; the shell is very delicate, and must be 
 carefully handled. Her nest is built of dead grass, the 
 skeletons of leaves, thin pieces of bark and moss, lined 
 profusely inside with wool, feathers, and hair. It is 
 situated amongst furzes, brambles, in hedge-banks near 
 the ground, occasionally amongst long grass on the ground, 
 and is spherical in shape, with an opening at the side. 
 
 THE MARTIN. 
 
 THE Martin seems particularly fond of attaching her nest 
 to the 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, throughs 
 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 
 
62 EGGS AND EGO-COLLECTING. 
 
 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 morn- 
 ing. She lines it internally with straw, hay, and feathers, 
 and returns to the same nesting-place year after year, some- 
 times 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 haw- 
 thorn 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 dis- 
 tricts, builds her nest in such splendid harmony with its 
 surroundings that it is very difficult to find. It is gene- 
 rally 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 
 
-:::-. ":V. :: .. 
 
 I. Dipper. 2. Garden Warbler. 3. Missel T^r^h^.^SpopafeilX, *5^>tarrn>gai?. 
 6. Peregrine Falcon. 7. Curlew. 8. "HoodeYcrow. 9. Coot. 
 
JKG08 AND EQG-COLLEOTINQ. M 
 
 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. 
 
 THE GARDEN WAEBLEE. 
 
 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 horse-hair, 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 tree.s, 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 oi: 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 sub- 
 ject 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 
 
54 ts&(/8 AND EGG-COLLECTINO. 
 
 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 PTAKMIGAN. 
 
 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 sur- 
 rounding 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* 
 
JEOGS AND EQG-COLLECTING. 65 
 
 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 CHOW. 
 
 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 
 
66 EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 whilst the bird was incubating without any apparent in- 
 convenience 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 horse-hair. 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 
 
EGGS. 
 
 i. Water Rail. 2. Common Bunting. 
 5. Jack Snipe. 6. Red-backed Shrike. 
 
 3. Yellow Hammer. 4. Gyr-Falcon. 
 7. Chough. 8. Fieldfare. 9. Puffin. 
 
EGOS AND EGG-COLLECTING. VI 
 
 by a layer of finer grass, and the interior lined with horse- 
 hair. 
 
 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 GYE 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 know- 
 ledge, been found in the British Isles, the birds breeding 
 in the more northern parts of Europe, such as Norway and 
 
68 EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 fiasure in a sea cliff. She often adopts a rabbit-burrow if 
 
EGGS. 
 
 i. Ring Ouzel. 2. Kentish Plover. 3. Buzzard. 4. Cirl Bunting. 
 5. Hawfinch. 6. Stock Dove. 7. Dartford Warbler. 8. Pochard. 9. Black Redstart. 
 
EQGS AND EOO-COLLECTim. 59 
 
 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 some- 
 times 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 what- 
 ever 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. 
 
60 BQQ8 AND EGG-COLLBCTINQ. 
 
 The situation of the nest, its materials and structure, also 
 the eggs of the King 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, princi- 
 pally 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 mo- 
 derately 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 
 
EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 61 
 
 sometimes without either moss or hair. The eggs number 
 four or five, of a dull bluish or cinereous white with ir- 
 regular 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 whicb 
 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, some. 
 
62 XG0S AND EQQ-COLLECTINQ. 
 
 times 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. 
 
 THE SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. 
 
 MANY curious positions for rearing a family have been 
 chosen by the Spotted Flycatcher, but its nest is generally 
 
t. Spotted Fly-catcher. 2. Tree Sparrow. 3. Brambling. 4. Whinchat. 5. Scoter. 
 b. Grey Wagtail. 7. Smew. 8. Black-headed Bunting. 9. Great Spotted Woodpecker. 
 
EGQ8 AND EGQ-COLLECTINQ. 3 
 
 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 some- 
 times 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 maybe 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 
 
4 EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 number from five to seven, similar to those of the Chaf- 
 finch, 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 of six, and are of a grey colour, 
 mottled and spotted with ochre-grey or brown, variable. 
 
EGGS. 
 
 i. Rock Pipit. 2. Cormorant. 3. Cfieepei;/ \4.;jTuitlB,DovtV \ ' " * 
 j. Shore Lark. 6. Gannet. 7. Quail. 8. OVster-cafcW. ' 9. boVT?t. * **' 
 
EGOS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 65 
 
 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 i 
 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 
 
66 EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 materials as dry grasses of various kinds, and seaweed, 
 with an inner lining of fine grass, and occasionally horse- 
 hair. 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 COEMORANT. 
 
 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. 
 
EGQS AND EQQ-COLLECTIN9. 67 
 
 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 of ten 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 con- 
 gregate 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 depres- 
 sion 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 e^en as many as twenty, of a pale 
 
88 EQQS AND BGG-COILECTINQ. 
 
 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 
 
EGGS. 
 
 i. Guillemot. 2. Rock Dove. 3. Dotterel. 4. Marsh Tit. 5. Little Auk. 
 6. Red-Legged Partridge. 7. Sanderling. 8. Long-tailed Titmouse. 9- Razor-bill. 
 
EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 9 
 
 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. 
 
 THE ROCK DOVE. 
 
 LEDGES and fissures or crevices in sea-cliffs are the nesting- 
 places of this bird, which uses sticks, twigs, heath, and 
 dead grass for building purposes. Her eggs are two in 
 number, quite white. 
 
 THE DOTTEREL. 
 
 MOUNTAIN-TOPS in the North of Scotland are the favourite 
 nesting-places of the Dotterel, which is now becoming 
 comparatively rare in districts where it was once common. 
 It uses no materials for nest-making, simply laying three 
 eggs in a slight cavity amongst woolly-fringe moss or other 
 mountain vegetation which affords some little concealment. 
 The eggs are of a dark cream or olivaceous-brown colour 
 thickly blotched or spotted with dark brown or brownish- 
 black. 
 
 THE MARSH TIT. 
 
 HOLES in trees (generally willows or pollards), banks, &c., 
 are the places adopted by the Marsh Tit for its nest, which 
 is composed of moss, wool, and down from rabbits, or the 
 ripe catkins of willows. Her eggs number from six to 
 eight, or even as many as ten have been found. They are 
 white, spotted with red-brown, more thickly at the larger end. 
 
 THE LITTLE AUK. 
 
 THE rocky shores of Spitzbergen, Greenland, and Iceland 
 form suitable breeding resorts for this bird, which makes no 
 
70 EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 nest, but deposits its single egg on the bare ground in 
 some crevice or under loose rocks. The egg is of a pale 
 greenish-blue, or white tinged with greenish-blue, a little 
 spotted and veined, especially at the larger end, with rust- 
 colour or yellowish-brown. Sometimes the egg has no 
 spots or streaks, at others only indistinctly streaked or 
 veined at the large end. 
 
 THE RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE. 
 
 THIS bird makes a slight nest of bents and leaves upon the 
 ground in grass, corn, or clover fields ; however, instances 
 have been cited where it has been found at considerable 
 elevation. But this departure from the general rule I have 
 noticed with other birds on rare occasions. Her eggs 
 number from twelve to eighteen, of a yellow-grey or cream 
 colour, marked with red or cinnamon-brown. 
 
 THE SANDERLING. 
 
 THE Sanderling is only a visitor to our shores, and breeds 
 in Arctic countries, such as Labrador, Greenland, &c. Its 
 nest is composed of grass and built upon the ground. The 
 eggs are four in number, of a huffish-olive ground-colour, 
 spotted and mottled plentifully with dark brown or black, 
 also with indistinct sub-markings of a greyish tinge. 
 
 THE LONG-TAILED TIT. 
 
 HEDGES and bushes are the positions taken up by this 
 skilled little architect and builder, whose beautiful work 
 wins the admiration of all naturalists. Oval in shape, it is 
 of large size compared with the bird, and strongly and com- 
 pactly put together with wool, lichens, and moss, the two 
 former of which adhere very closely when they once become 
 
EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 71 
 
 entangled. A small hole is left on one side, pretty high up, 
 for ingress and egress, and the inside is lined with feathers, 
 which make it as warm and comfortable, at least to the 
 human understanding, as the outside is compact. The 
 eggs number from seven to ten, and even sixteen or 
 twenty, which are probably the production of more than 
 one bird; white or rosy- white until blown (by reason of 
 the yolk showing through the thin transparent shell), with 
 very small reddish-brown spots round the larger end. 
 
 THE RAZOR-BILL. 
 
 THE Guillemot and Razor-Bill appear to be very much 
 alike in the choice of their position for breeding purposes, 
 and alike only lay one egg each; but that of the latter 
 differs very much from the former in diversity of colour- 
 ing. It is white or buffy-white, spotted and blotched with 
 black, chestnut, or reddish-brown. 
 
 THE SANDWICH TERN. 
 
 Low, sandy islands, such as the Wamses at the Fame and 
 Scilly Isles, and at suitable places on the Scottish and 
 Irish coasts, are the favourite breeding places of this Tern. 
 Sometimes a slight hollow is scratched in the sand or 
 gravel; at others no declivity at all is formed for the 
 nest. Occasionally a few bits of grass are used as a 
 lining. The eggs number two or three, and vary from 
 creamy-white to dark buff in ground colour. They are 
 blotched and spotted with reddish- and blackish-brown and 
 underlying light grey markings. 
 
72 EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 THE ARCTIC TERN. 
 
 BREEDS on low islands and in suitable places along 1 the 
 coast, chiefly in the northern parts of our kingdom. 1 
 have found most nests amongst the shingle. As a rule, no 
 materials whatever are used. The eggs are two or three, 
 varying from greyish-buff to huffish-brown (I have seen 
 them occasionally pale blue), spotted and blotched with 
 blackish-brown and underlying pale grey. The eggs of 
 this bird run slightly smaller than those of the Common 
 Tern. 
 
 THE COMMON TERN. 
 
 THE situation, nest, and eggs of this bird differ but little 
 from those of the Arctic Tern, except that the nest is often 
 farther away from the water's edge, and generally lined 
 with bits of withered grass and weed. The bird is a more 
 abundant breeder, however, round the English coast, and 
 less numerous in Scotland. Its eggs run slightly larger, 
 a,re not so boldly marked, and the ground colour is less 
 prone to an olive tinge. 
 
 THE LESSER TERN. 
 
 ONE result of the recently-passed law for the better pro- 
 tection of Wild Birds ought to be the stoppage of the 
 decrease of this beautiful little Tern's numbers. It breeds 
 in suitable localities round our coast, depositing its eggs 
 on the shingle without making any nest at all. These 
 number two, three, and occasionally four, similar in 
 coloration to those of the Common and Arctic Terns, but 
 smaller in size. 
 
EGGS. 
 
 i. Yellow Wagtail. 2. Twite. 3. Hobby. 4. Marsh Harrier. 
 
 5- Osprey. 6. Snow Bunting. 7. Tufted Duck. 8. Goosander 9 Ringed Plover. 
 10. Short-eared Owl. 
 
EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 78 
 
 THE GOSHAWK. 
 
 HIGH trees on the outsides of forests and large woods are 
 chosen by the Goshawk for the accommodation of its nest, 
 which is made of sticks, twigs, rootlets, and moss. It lays 
 four eggs generally, but sometimes only three are found, 
 and at others as many as five ; of a pale bluish-white, 
 occasionally marked with small, light reddish-brown spots. 
 The bird has, however, long since ceased to breed in the 
 British Isles, unless as a rare exception. 
 
 THE YELLOW WAGTAIL. 
 
 I HAVE met with this somewhat local though common 
 summer visitor's nest most abundantly in the Yorkshire 
 dales. It is situated on the ground, in meadows, pastures, 
 and on commons, and is generally sheltered by a clod, piece 
 of overhanging bank, or tuft of grass, and is often most 
 difficult to find. It is composed of grass, moss, and root- 
 lets, with an inner lining of horse and cow hair, sometimes 
 a few feathers. The eggs number from four to six, 
 greyish-white in ground colour, and thickly speckled with 
 greyish- and yellowish-brown. They are very similar to 
 those of the Grey Wagtail. 
 
 THE GREY LAG GOOSE. 
 
 THIS bird places its nest on the ground in desolate swamps 
 and on lonely moors in the Highlands of Scotland, and the 
 Jslands lying to the west; also in Ireland, in County 
 Monaghan. It builds a large nest of sticks, heather, twigs, 
 reed, grass, and moss, with an inner lining of down from 
 
74 EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 the bird's own body. The eggs number six to eight, or 
 even a dozen, creamy-white, unpolished. 
 
 THE MUTE SWAN. 
 
 ALTHOUGH semi-domesticated and holding its footing only 
 by the help of strict protection, the Swan has been so 
 long with us that it merits treatment, I think. Its ness 
 is composed of reeds, rushes, and grass, with a slight lining 
 of down and feathers, and is placed on small islands and 
 on the banks of lakes and rivers. The eggs number from 
 three or four to a dozen, according to the age of the parent 
 bird, and are greenish-white, roughish, and unspotted. 
 
 THE SHAG. 
 
 IN caves, fissures, on ledges of maritime cliffs, and amongst 
 huge boulders piled up along the beach of small rocky 
 islands around our coasts, may be found the nest of this 
 bird. I have seen specimens close together vary con- 
 siderably in size according to the accommodation. It is 
 composed of seaweed, sticks, sprigs of heather, turf, and 
 grass. The eggs number two, three, four, or five, generally 
 one of the first two numbers, the real shell being of a 
 delicate bluish-green, but difficult to see on account of the 
 thick, chalky encrustation. 
 
 THE CRESTED TIT. 
 
 THE nest of this pretty little bird is placed in a hole in the 
 branch or trunk of a tree at varying heights from the 
 
EGOS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 76 
 
 ground, and is met with only in the pine forests of Scot- 
 land. It is composed of grass, moss, wool, fur, and feathers. 
 The eggs number four to seven or eight, and are white in 
 ground colour, freckled and spotted with reddish- brown, 
 generally forming a belt round the large end. 
 
 THE GADWALL. 
 
 THIS bird is only known to nest in one or two places in 
 Norfolk. It has been my pleasure to examine two nests 
 one situated amongst rough, dead grass, and the other in a 
 tuft of rushes in each case quite close to the water. The 
 nest is made of dry grass, rushes, or withered leaves, and 
 lined with beautiful soft down. From eight to twelve or 
 thirteen creamy-white eggs are laid. 
 
 THE TUFTED DUCK. 
 
 THIS member of the Duck family selects the neatest and 
 best concealed situation of all. It is generally well 
 hidden in a tussock of rushes growing in or close to the 
 water of a mere or pond. The nest is made of dead rushes, 
 grass, or reeds, and is lined with small dark pieces of 
 down, with whitish centres. The eggs are light greenish- 
 buff in colour, and number from eight to ten, or even 
 thirteen. They are very similar to those of the Pochard, 
 but the down tufts in the nest are darker. 
 
 THE STONE CURLEW. 
 
 FOUND on stony, arable land, commons, and rough, bare 
 pastures. I have watched the bird through my binoculars, 
 
76 EG GS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 when put off her eggs, fly to some distance and remain 
 tfuite flat upon the ground, with which she closely har- 
 monises. The nest is a mere unlined hollow, with some- 
 times a few bents in it, which may as easily as not have 
 been blown there. Her eggs number two, of light buffish 
 to clay-brown ground colour, blotched and spotted with 
 blackish-brown and grey. I have noticed that one egg in 
 a nest will differ radically in the size and intensity of its 
 markings from the others. 
 
 THE FULMAR PETREL. 
 
 So far as the British Isles are concerned, it is perhaps only 
 safe to say that this bird breeds at St. Kilda, although it 
 has been reported from other quarters. Its nest is situated 
 on ledges of cliffs covered with a sufficient amount of earth 
 for the bird to make a burrow in, or in crevices. It is 
 sometimes lined with a scanty supply of dry grass ; at 
 others no lining at all is used. The bird lays a single 
 rough, chalky-white egg. 
 
 THE GARGANEY. 
 
 NORFOLK seems to be the last breeding resort of this duck. 
 Its nest is situated in reed beds, or such other vegetation 
 as will afford the bird plenty of concealment. It is com- 
 posed of reeds, leaves, or dry grass, and is lined with 
 pieces of down, the long white tips of which distinguish it 
 from the TeaL The eggs are creamy-white, like those of 
 
EGOS AND EGG -COLLECTING. 77 
 
 the bird above-named, and number from seven or eight to 
 as many as thirteen. 
 
 THE GOOSANDER. 
 
 THE Goosander breeds in the Highlands of Scotland, and 
 situates its nest in hollow trees and crevices of rock, 
 generally near the water. Very little, if any, material is 
 said to be used excepting the warm lining of greyish- 
 white down from the bird's own body. The eggs number 
 from eight to a dozen or thirteen, creamy- white and smooth- 
 shelled. 
 
 THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE. 
 
 THE midland and eastern counties contain the favourite 
 breeding resorts of this handsome bird. Its nest is com- 
 posed of all kinds of dead aquatic vegetation, such as reeds 
 and flags, and is situated in or on the water of lakes, 
 broads, large tarns, and meres. The bird lays three or four 
 eggs, sometimes even as many as five, white and chalky 
 when first laid, but soon becoming soiled and dirty. 
 
 THE BLACK GUILLEMOT. 
 
 THE Isle of Man, Hebrides, Orkneys, Shetlands, and some 
 parts of Ireland are favoured by this bird as a breeder. 
 Its nest is situated in crevices and under ledges and 
 boulders of rock. No materials of any kind are used for 
 its nest. The eggs number two, varying from light 
 bluish-green to light buffy-white in ground colour^ spotted, 
 
78 EQQS AND EQG-COLLEGTING. 
 
 speckled, and blotched with rich blackish -brown and pale 
 reddish-brown and underlying grey markings. 
 
 THE KITTIWAKE. 
 
 THE nest of the Kittiwake is situated on ledges of mari- 
 time cliffs round our coast, and at the Fame Islands I 
 have seen the bird occupying such a small corner that it 
 was unable to sit properly on its eggs. The nest is made 
 of seaweed and lined with dead grass. Its eggs number 
 two, three, and rarely four, and vary from light greenish- 
 blue to stone colour, or buffish-brown, blotched and spotted 
 with varying shades of brown and grey. The markings 
 sometimes form a zone round the larger end. 
 
 THE SHORT-EARED OWL. 
 
 ON the ground, amongst heather or sedges, this bird makes 
 its nest, in the eastern and northern counties and in Scot- 
 land. It uses next to no materials, but such as are present 
 consist of bits of dead reeds and leaves. Its eggs number 
 from four to seven or eight, pure white, unspotted, and 
 oval in shape. 
 
 THE LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 
 
 ALTHOUGH nowhere abundant, this bird breeds in suitable 
 districts throughout England. Its nest is situated in a 
 hole in the trunk or some large branch of a tree, and is 
 
EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 7 
 
 about seven to a dozen inches deep. I have found it quite 
 close to London. No materials are used for the nest 
 except chippings of dry wood detached in the construction 
 of the hole. Eggs from five or six to eight, and even nine, 
 white, without spots, and polished. 
 
 THE WILLOW WREN. 
 
 THE nest of the Willow Wren, or Willow Warbler, is 
 situated on or near the ground in fields, orchards, woods, 
 and almost everywhere. It is made of moss, bits of dried 
 grass, occasionally fern-fronds or leaves, and is lined with 
 feathers and hair. The eggs number from four or five to 
 seven, and upon occasion I have found eight. They are 
 white, spotted with reddish-brown. 
 
 THE SEDGE WARBLER. 
 
 I HAVE found this bird's nest amongst low bushes, tufts of 
 tall, coarse grass, and amongst nettles ; generally, though 
 not always, near water. It is composed of grass-stems 
 lined with finer grass, horsehair, and sometimes vegetable 
 down in small quantities. The eggs number five or six, 
 light yellowish-brown tinged with blue, which is rarely seen 
 on account of the closely-crowded yellowish-brown or 
 buffish-brown markings. The eggs generally have a few 
 streaks or lines of blackish-brown on the larger end. 
 
 THE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. 
 
 THE nest of this bird is found on the ground, concealed 
 beneath rocks, or amongst the vegetation growing on the 
 
80 EGOS AND EQQ-COLLECTINQ. 
 
 banks of large bodies of water in Scotland and Ireland. 
 I have seen it on the banks of streams, where it must have 
 been washed away by the first freshet. It is composed of 
 bits of heather, dry leaves, and down from the bird's own 
 body. The eggs number from six or seven to nine, or 
 even a dozen, and vary from huffish-grey to pale olive-grey 
 in colour. 
 
 THE GREENSHANK. 
 
 BREEDS chiefly in the Highlands of Scotland, and the 
 islands' lying to the west thereof. Its nest is merely a 
 slight declivity lined with a few bits of dry grass, dead 
 heather, or leaves. The eggs number four, of a stone 
 colour or creamy-white, spotted and blotched dark 
 reddish-brown and grey. 
 
 THE WHIMBREL. 
 
 THE islands to the west and north of Scotland are the 
 breeding home of the Whimbrel. A slight dry hollow in 
 the shelter of a tussock of grass or heath is selected on 
 some lonely piece of moor. The nest is lined with a few 
 blades of withered grass, sprigs of heather, or dead leaves. 
 The eggs number four, varying from darkish buff to olive- 
 green, spotted and blotched with reddish-brown, olive- 
 brown, and underlying markings of grey. 
 
 THE REED WARBLER. 
 
 THIS bird suspends its nest between the stems of reeds and 
 branches of willows and other trees growing from or over 
 
EGGS. 
 
 i. Wood Warbler 2 Greenshank. 3. Sandwich Tern. 
 
 4. Reed Warbler 5. Whimbrel. 6. Black Guillemot. 7. Garganey. 
 
 8. Red-breasted Merganser g Bearded Tit. 
 
EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 81 
 
 water. It is composed of sedge grass, reed leaves, moss, 
 hair, and reed down. It is found in the Southern and 
 Eastern portions of England. The eggs number four or 
 five, light greenish-blue or greenish- white, spotted, freckled, 
 and clouded with greenish-brown or dark olive, and under- 
 lying markings of greyish-brown. The spots are generally 
 most numerous round the larger end of the egg. 
 
 THE WOOD WARBLER. 
 
 BKEEDS sparingly throughout England and in Southern 
 Scotland. Its nest is placed in tufts of coarse grass and 
 other vegetation on the ground, and is composed of dry 
 grass, leaves, and bits of moss, and lined with horsehair 
 only. This feature will readily distinguish it from the nest 
 of the Chiffchaff and Willow Wren, whose semi-domed 
 structures it closely resembles in other respects. The eggs 
 number from five to seven, white in ground colour, 
 numerously spotted and freckled with purplish-brown and 
 underlying markings of grey. 
 
 THE TWITE. 
 
 THE Twite breeds on the moors in the North of England, 
 Scotland, and in Ireland. Its nest is situated on or near the 
 ground amongst heather or furze. It is composed of sprigs 
 of heath, and lined with rootlets, wool, feathers, and hair. 
 The eggs number four or five, sometimes six, and are 
 similar to those of the Linnet, pale bluish-green, spotted, 
 speckled, and streaked with purplish-red and reddish- 
 
M EGOS AND EGG-COLLECTIN&. 
 
 brown. I have found several nests close together on a 
 small rocky islet in the Highlands. 
 
 THE BEARDED TIT. 
 
 IT is thought by some writers that the exceptionally hard 
 weather we experienced last winter (1894-5) has ex- 
 tinguished this little bird in its last resort, the fens of 
 Norfolk and Cambridgeshire; however, it is to be hoped 
 that this is not the case. Its nest is composed of dead 
 sedge and reed leaves, lined with grass and reed down, 
 and is situated near the ground in some large reed bed. 
 The eggs number from four to seven, light brownisli- 
 white, sparingly marked with streaks and spots of dark 
 brown. 
 
 THE ROSEATE TERN. 
 
 So rare a breeder with us has this bird become, that a 
 celebrated authority recently included it in a work on 
 British Birds' Nests only after some hesitation ; but I am 
 pleased to say that two pairs bred last year in one of their 
 old haunts well known to me. The nest is simply a 
 hollow in the sand or shingle of a small rocky island, at no 
 great height from the sea. The eggs number two or three, 
 and exactly resemble in coloration and size those of the 
 Common and Arctic Terns. 
 
 THE RINGED PLOVER. 
 
 THIS pretty little bird makes no nest in the proper sense 
 of the word, although I have found a few pebbles and 
 
EQ08 AND EQQ-COLLEGTINQ. 83 
 
 small shells used when a rocky place instead of a sandy 
 beach has been chosen for breeding upon. Its nest is 
 generally well above high-water mark, amongst fine sand, 
 shingle, or on bare rock round our coasfc, and on the shores 
 of inland sheets of water. The eggs number four, and 
 vary from pale buff to stone or cream colour, spotted and 
 speckled all over with small brownish-black and under- 
 lying inky -grey marks. 
 
 THE MANX SHEARWATER. 
 
 THE Manx Shearwater breeds on the western coasts of 
 England and Scotland, in the Hebrides and islands to the 
 north of Scotland ; also in several parts of the Irish coast 
 and the off-lying islands. Its nest is situated at the end 
 of a deep burrow, which is generally dug by the bird itself. 
 Some observers have reported it to consist of bits of grass 
 and stalks, and others have found no attempt at all at 
 nest-building in some of the burrows they have opened. It 
 lays a single white, smooth egg. 
 
 THE PINTAIL DTJCK. 
 
 THIS uncommon Duck breeds in one or two parts of Ireland 
 and Scotland still, it is said on good authority. Its nest 
 consists of rushes, sedge, dead grass, and tufts of dark 
 brown down bearing white tips, and is placed amongst 
 rushes and such other coarse vegetation as will afford the 
 bird shelter. The eggs number from six to eight, or even 
 ten, of a pale buff colour tinged with green. 
 
84 EGGS AND EQQ-GOLLECTINQ. 
 
 LEACH'S FORK-TAILED PETREL. 
 
 THE St. Kilda group of islands forms the principal British 
 breeding- haunt of this bird, although colonies nest in the 
 Hebrides and on the Blaskets off the Irish coast. The nest 
 is situated at the end of a burrow made by the bird itself, 
 or under rocks, and is composed of withered grass, moss, 
 and lichens. Only one egg is laid, white in ground colour, 
 with a belt of small brownish-red spots round the larger 
 end. 
 
 THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE. 
 
 A LITTLE withered grass or other herbage is used to line the 
 depression selected by this bird for its nesting place, which 
 is situated on the ground in grassy swamps and marshes, 
 near water as a rule, in the North of Scotland and some of 
 the islands lying to the west and north thereof. Four 
 eggs are laid, varying in ground colour from olive to pale 
 buff, spotted, speckled, and blotched with varying shades 
 of dark brown and underlying specks of light grey. 
 
 THE HOOPOE. 
 
 ALTHOUGH this bird has bred in different parts of England, 
 its chances of doing so now are somewhat remote, on 
 account of the merciless persecution it suffers at the hands 
 of gunners. Its nest is situated in holes in trees, walls, or 
 rocks, and is composed of bits of straws and dry grass. 
 The eggs number from five to seven, and vary from light 
 greenish-blue to pale buff, with minute pitmarks over their 
 surface. 
 
EGGS. 
 
 r. Golden Oriole. 2. Shag. 3. Gad wall. 4. Willow Wren. 
 
 5. Richardson's Skua. 6. Marsh Warbler. 7. Goshawk. 8. Pintail. 
 
 9. Arctic Tern. 10. Blue-headed Wagtail. 
 
EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 86 
 
 THE GOLDEN OKIOLE. 
 
 THIS bird is, to a very great extent, an accidental visitor to 
 our shores, but it is thought by eminent authorities that it 
 would become a common breeder with us were it not so dear 
 to the heart of the collector. It has bred in several of the 
 southern counties of England, and suspends its nest, which 
 is composed of strips of bark, wool, sedge, grass, and leaves, 
 with an inner lining of flower-heads of grass, beneath the 
 forks of a large horizontal branch at some considerable 
 height from the ground. The eggs number four to five 
 or six, are white or light creamy-white, spotted with 
 purplish-brown and underlying markings of grey. 
 
 THE OSPREY. 
 
 THE Osprey, now only met with in one or two remote 
 parts of Scotland, employs sticks, turf, moss, and wool 
 in the construction of its bulky nest, which it builds on 
 the top of a tall tree or ruin. The eggs number three, some- 
 times four, varying from white to creamy-white in ground 
 colour, beautifully marked, and especially so at the larger 
 end, as a rule with rich reddish-brown. The markings 
 vary considerably. 
 
 THE WHITE WAGTAIL. 
 
 ALTHOUGH this bird is the Continental representative of 
 our Pied Wagtail, there are on record many well-authen- 
 ticated instances of its breeding in this country. It differs 
 from the Pied Wagtail in being bluish or slate grey, where 
 
W EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
 
 that bird is black, below the nape. Its nest, and the 
 situation in which it is placed, do not differ from that of 
 the bird just named. The eggs are also similar, but are 
 said to be subject to greater variation in colour and 
 markings. 
 
 THE BLUE-HEADED WAGTAIL. 
 
 THE nest of this somewhat rare visitor has several times 
 been found in Northumberland, and it has in all prob- 
 ability nested on many occasions elsewhere, without its 
 identity being clearly established. The nest is made of dry 
 grass, fine roots, and moss, lined with hair and occasionally 
 a few feathers, and is situated on a bank or amongst grass 
 or corn in a similar position to that of the Yellow Wagtail. 
 The eggs number five as a rule, but six are sometimes 
 found, of a yellowish-white ground colour, spotted, freckled, 
 and clouded with light brown, and occasionally streaked 
 on the larger end with fine blackish-brown lines. 
 
 MONTAGU'S HARRIER. 
 
 ALTHOUGH this bird rarely breeds with us now, its nest has 
 occasionally been met with in recent years in the southern 
 counties. The nest is placed on the ground amongst 
 heath, fern, furze, or growing crops, and consists of a few 
 twigs, straws, and bits of dead grass. Its eggs number 
 from four to six, of a faint bluish-white, and are on 
 rare occasions marked with a few light reddish-brown 
 spots. 
 
i. Hen Harrier. 2. Roseate Tern. 3. Great Black-backed Gull. 
 
 4. Lesser Black-backed Gull. 5. Great Crested Grebe. 6. Kittiwake. 
 
 7. Stone Curlew. 8. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. 9. White Wagtail. 
 
EOG8 AND EGG-COLLECTING. W 
 
 THE HEN HAERIER.' 
 
 GAME-preserving has proved a disastrous business to this 
 bird, and it now only breeds in a few of its old strongholds, 
 such as Cornwall, Wales, the Highlands, Orkneys, and 
 Hebrides, where I have met with it. Its nest is composed 
 of sticks, sprigs of heather, dry grass, *nd wool, and is 
 placed upon the ground in deep heather. The eggs number 
 from four to six, of a pale bluish-white colour, rarely 
 marked with a few reddish-brown spots. 
 
 THE MARSH HARRIER. 
 
 STICKS, reeds, and sedge are the materials used by this bird 
 for building its nest, which is situated on the ground, 
 although instances have been reported of it occurring in a 
 tree. It is said to still breed in Norfolk and the West of 
 England. The eggs number three or four, sometimes as 
 many as six, it is said. They are greyish- white, slightly 
 tinged with light bluish-green, and occasionally marked 
 with rusty brown. 
 
 THE HOBBY. 
 
 THIS bird still breeds in very small numbers in the Mid- 
 lands and in the Eastern Counties. It selects the old nest 
 of a Crow, Wood Pigeon, or Magpie, and deposits its three 
 or four eggs in it without any attempt at nest-building. 
 The eggs are yellowish- white in ground colour, but this 
 is almost entirely hidden by the thick marking of reddish- 
 brown. 
 
88 EGGS AND EOG -COLLECTING. 
 
 RICHARDSON'S SKUA. 
 
 THE islands lying to the West and North of Scotland, also 
 parts of the far north of the mainland, are chosen by this 
 Skua for its breeding quarters. The nest is simply a 
 slight hollow, sparingly lined with a few bits of withered 
 grass, and is situated on wild, unfrequented moors and 
 bog-land. The eggs number two, but upon occasion one 
 only is found, and sometimes as many as three. They vary 
 from olive-green to reddish-brown in ground colour, 
 spotted and blotched with blackish-brown and light grey. 
 I have seen them harmonise so closely with their surround- 
 ings that I had a great difficulty in finding them, though 
 I had marked the whereabouts of the nest within a few feet 
 through my binoculars. 
 
 THE LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. 
 
 Low rocky islands are the favourite breeding places of 
 this Gull, and they are now particularly numerous at 
 the Fame Islands, where I have seen the eggs lying about 
 so thickly that the visitor had to exercise great care to 
 avoid treading upon them. Sometimes quite a large 
 quantity of seaweed is used in making the nest, at others a 
 few bits of grass and roots, and in some cases, where bare 
 peat earth is available, simply a hollow is scratched out. 
 The eggs as a rule number three, but sometimes only two 
 are met with. I have seen it stated that the bird occa- 
 sionally lays four, but out of the hundreds of nests I have 
 examined I have never had the luck to see that number. 
 In coloration they vary from pale greyish-green to reddish- 
 brown, blotched and spotted with blackish- and greyish- 
 
EGOS AND EGG-COLLECTING. & 
 
 blown. Sometimes the markings take the form of 
 streaks. The eggs, although as a rule darker than those 
 of the Herring Gull, are very difficult to distinguish, and I 
 have found no safe method short of watching the parent 
 birds on the nest. 
 
 THE GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. 
 
 THE flat-topped summits of rocks, stacks, and high mari- 
 time cliffs are the usual situation for this GulFs nest; how- 
 ever, I have met with it on comparatively low rocky islets 
 in Highland sea-lochs. It does not breed on the East 
 Coast of England. Its nest is made of bits of heather, 
 dead grass, seaweed, and sometimes a few feathers, and 
 varies in size. The eggs number three, but sometimes only 
 two are found, greyish-brown or stone colour, tinged with 
 olive and spotted with blackish- brown and dark grey. 
 
 THE BLACK GROUSE. 
 
 THIS bird places its nest amongst deep heather, long grass, 
 and rushes, ferns, and brambles, in suitable moorland parts 
 of England, Wales, and Scotland. It is simply a hollow 
 lined with a few bits of fern, heath, or dead grass. The 
 eggs number six to ten, or even more, yellowish-white to 
 buff, spotted with rich reddish-brown. I have generally 
 found it through putting the hen off her nest. 
 
 THE MARSH WARBLER. 
 
 A SITUATION such as that afforded by a stunted bush over- 
 grown with weeds and close to water of some kind, chiefly 
 
(0 EGGS AND EGG-VOLLECTINQ. 
 
 in the southern counties of England, is said to be chosen 
 by the Marsh Warbler for its nest. It employs grass- 
 stems and leaves, moss and spiders' webs, in the construc- 
 tion of its nest, with an inner lining of horsehair. The 
 eggs number from five to seven, and vary considerably in 
 coloration. One type is said to be greenish-white, spotted, 
 blotched, and marbled with olive-brown, and another 
 greenish-blue, blotched and spotted with olive-brown 
 and grey underlying marks. It is a rare and local breeder 
 with us. 
 
 THE SNOW BUNTING. 
 
 THE highest mountain-tops of Scotland and the Shetlands 
 are patronised by the Snow Bunting during the breeding 
 season. It makes its nest of withered grass, fine roots, and 
 moss, and lines it with down, wool, hair, or feathers, and 
 situates it in crevices of rock or amongst loose stones. The 
 eggs number from four to eight, but five or six are 
 generally found, varying from dull white to very light 
 greenish-blue in ground colour, spotted and blotched with 
 reddish-brown, and occasionally streaked with blackish- 
 brown. The markings are most numerous at the larger 
 end, and the underlying ones are of a light grey and pale 
 brown. 
 
 THE SPOTTED CRAKE. 
 
 THE eastern and southern counties of England are the 
 favourite breeding resorts of this somewhat uncommon 
 bird. Its nest is large, and made of reeds, sedges, rushes, 
 and other materials growing in swamps, and is placed on a 
 
.*. 
 
 9 
 
 EGGS. 
 
 i Hoopoe. 2. Red-necked Phalarope. 3- Crested Tit. 
 
 4. Common Tern. 5- Red-throated Diver. 6. Black-throated Diver. 7- Lesser Tern. 
 8. Montague's Harrier. o. Sedge Warbler. 
 
EGOS AND EGO-COLLECTING. 91 
 
 tussock or amongst reeds, the base generally resting in 
 water. The eggs number eight to ten, and even twelve, 
 and vary in ground colour from white to buff, the inter- 
 mediate stages including olive and greenish-white. They 
 are spotted with reddish-brown of varying shades, and 
 
 THE RED-THROATED DIVER. 
 
 I HAVE seen this bird's nest in the Outer Hebrides, where 
 it is fairly common. It also breeds on the mainland of 
 Scotland and in Ireland. The nest is generally placed 
 close to the edge of some mountain tarn or loch, and is a 
 mere depression trodden in. the peat earth, sometimes 
 scantily lined with bits of dead bent or water-weeds. The 
 eggs number two, of a dark brownish-olive, frequently 
 greenish, spotted with blackish-brown, and underlying 
 markings o a lighter character. 
 
 THE BLACK-THROATED DIVER. 
 
 THE Black-throated Diver breeds in the Outer Hebrides 
 and on the mainland of Scotland. It places its nest, which 
 is made of reeds and aquatic weeds, lined with grass, on 
 the shingle of mountain-loch shores and small islands. 
 The eggs number two, dark olive-brown, or buffish-brown, 
 spotted somewhat sparingly with blackish-brown and 
 umber-brown. The eggs need careful identification, else 
 they are likely to be confused with those of the Red- 
 throated species. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Auk, Little, 69 
 
 B 
 
 Bittern, 33 
 Blackbird, 29 
 Blackcap, 46 
 Black Redstart, 62 
 Blue Tit, 46 
 Brambling, 63 
 Bullfinch, 22 
 Bunting, Blackheaded, 65 
 Girl, 60 
 
 Common, 56 
 
 Snow, 90 
 Buzzard, 60 
 
 C 
 
 Capercailzie, 35 
 Carrion Crow, 44 
 Chaffinch, 23 
 Chiff chaff, 51 
 Chough, 58 
 Cirl Bunting, 60 
 Cole Tit, 68 
 Coot, 55 
 Cormorant, 68 
 Crake, Spotted, 90 
 Creeper, 66 
 Crossbill, 32 
 Crow, Carrion, 44 
 Hooded, 66 
 Cuckoo, 48 
 
 Curlew, Common, 55 
 Stone, 75 
 
 D 
 
 Dartford Warbler, 61 
 
 Dipper, 52 
 
 Diver, Red-throated, 91 
 
 ,, Black-throated, 91 
 Dotterel, 69 
 Dove, Ring, 26 
 
 Rock, 69 
 
 Stock, 61 
 
 Turtle, 66 
 Duck, Eider, 43 
 
 Wild, 47 
 
 Tufted, 75 
 
 Pintail, 83 
 Dunlin, 36 
 
 E 
 
 Eagle, Golden, 43 
 
 White-tailed, 42 
 Eider Duck, 43 
 
 Falcon, Gyr, 57 
 
 ,, Peregrine, 5* 
 Fieldfare, 57 
 Flycatcher, Pied, 36 
 Spotted, 62 
 
 a 
 
 Gadwall, 76 
 Gannet, 67 
 Garden Warbler, 53 
 
94 
 
 Garganey, 76 
 Golden-crested Wren, 27 
 Golden Eagle, 43 
 Plover, 37 
 Goldfinch, 21 
 Goose, Grey Lag, 73 
 Goosander, 77 
 Goshawk, 73 
 Grasshopper Warbler, 43 
 Grebe, Little, 35 
 
 Great Crested, 77 
 Greenfinch, 28 
 Greenshank, 80 
 Green Woodpecker, 30 
 Grey Wagtail, 64 
 Grouse, Red, 25 
 
 Black, 89 
 Guillemot, Common, 68 
 
 Black, 77 
 Gull, Blackheaded, 50 
 ,, Common, 30 
 ,, Herring, 44 
 
 Great Black-backed, 89 
 ,, Lesser Black-backed, 88 
 Gyr Falcon, 57 
 
 H 
 
 Harrier, Montagu's, 86 
 Hen, 87 
 Marsh, 87 
 Hawfinch, 61 
 Hawk, Kestrel, 25 
 Merlin, 33 
 Sparrow, 45 
 Hedge Sparrow, 52 
 Heron, 49 
 Hobby, 87 
 Hooded Crow, &5 
 Hoopoe, 84 
 House Sparrow, 25 
 
 J 
 
 Jackdaw,, 25 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Jack Snipe, 57 
 Jay, 24 
 
 K 
 
 Kestrel, 25 
 Kingfisher, 30 
 Kite, 39 
 Kittiwake, 78 
 
 L 
 
 Landrail, 38 
 Lapwing, 31 
 Lark, Shore, 67 
 Sky, 37 
 Wood, 32 
 Lesser Whitethroat, 41 
 Linnet, 23 
 
 M 
 
 Magpie, 22 
 Marsh Tit, 69 
 Martin, House, 51 
 
 Sand, 39 
 Meadow Pipit, 35 
 Merlin, 33 
 
 Merganser, Red-breasted, 79 
 Missel Thrush, 53 
 Moorhen, 31 
 
 Nightingale, 31 
 Nightjar, 33 
 Nuthatch, 29 
 
 Oriole, Golden, 85 
 
 Osprey, 85 
 
 Ouzel, Ring, 59 
 Water, 52 
 
 Owl, Barn, 31 
 Long-eared, 40 
 Short-eared, 78 
 Tawny, 43 
 
 Oyster-catcher, 68 
 
95 
 
 Partridge, 46 
 
 Red-legged, 70 
 Peregrine Falcon, 54 
 Petrel, Stormy, 34 
 Fulmar, 76 
 Leach's Fork-tailed, 84 
 Fhalarope, Grey, 42 
 
 Red-necked, 84 
 Pheasant, 48 
 Pied Flycatcher, 36 
 
 Wagtail, 48 
 Pintail Duck, 83 
 Pipit, Meadow, 35 
 Rock, 65 
 Tree, 36 
 Plover, Golden, 37 
 Green, 31 
 Kentish, 60 
 Ringed, 82 
 Pochard, 62 
 Ptarmigan, 64 
 Puffin, 58 
 
 Quail, 67 
 
 Rail, Land-, 38 
 Water, 56 
 Raven, 23 
 Razor-hill, 71 
 Red-backed Shrike, 58 
 Red-legged Partridge, 70 
 Redpoll, 26 
 Redshank, 39 
 Redstart, 28 
 
 Black, 62 
 Redwing, 40 
 Ringdove, 26 
 Ring Ouzel, 59 
 Robin, 26 
 
 Rock Dove, 69 
 Pipit, 65 
 Rook, ?,4 
 Ruff, 41 
 
 8 
 
 Sanderling, 70 
 
 Sand Martin, 39 
 
 Sandpiper, Common. 41 
 
 Scoter, 64 
 
 Seagull, Common, 30 
 
 Shag, 74 
 
 Shearwater, Manx, 83 
 
 Shieldrake, 40 
 
 Shore Lark, 67 
 
 Shoveller, 42 
 
 Shrike, Red-backed, 58 
 
 Siskin, 27 
 
 Skua, Common, 38 
 
 ,, Richardson's, 88 
 Skylark, 37 
 Smew, 65 
 Snipe, Common, 50 
 
 Jack, 57 
 Sparrowhawk, 45 
 Sparrow, Hedge, 52 
 
 House, 25 
 
 Tree, 63 
 Spoonbill, 54 
 Spotted Flycatcher, 62 
 Starling, 22 
 Stint, Little, 39 
 Stock Dove, 61 
 Stone-chat, 34 
 Storm Petrel, 34 
 Swallow, 44 
 Swan, Mute, 74 
 Swift, 50 
 
 Teal, 29 
 
 Tern,, Sandwich* 71 
 
96 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Tern, Arctic, 72 
 Common, 72 
 Lesser, 72 
 Roseate, 82 
 Thrush, Common, 28 
 
 Missel, 53 
 Tit, Blue, 46 
 ,, Bearded, 82 
 Cole, 68 
 Great, 29 
 Long-tailed, 70 
 March, 69 
 Crested, 74 
 Tree Pipit, 36 
 
 Sparrow, 63 
 Turtle Dove, 66 
 Twite, 87 
 
 W 
 
 Wagtail, Grey, 64 
 Pied, 48 
 YeUow, 73 
 
 Warbler, Dartford, 61 
 White, 85 
 Blue-headed, 86 
 Garden, 53 
 ,. Grasshopper, 43 
 
 Warbler, Marsh, 89 
 Reed, 80 
 Sedge, 79 
 Water Ouzel, 52 
 
 Rail, 56 
 Wheatear, 34 
 Whimbrel, 80 
 Whinchat, 64 
 White-tailed Eagle, 42 
 Whitethroat, 27 
 
 Lesser, 41 
 
 Wigeon, 38 
 Wild Duck, 47 
 Woodcock, 49 
 Woodlark, 32 
 Woodpecker, Green, 30 
 
 Great Spotted, 65 
 
 Lesser Spotted, 78 
 
 Wood Warbler, 81 
 Wren, Common, 24 
 
 Golden-crested, 27 
 Willow, 79 
 Wryneck, 27 
 
 Yellow-hammer, 66 
 
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