on some Species of British Quadrupeds, Birds, and Fishes. 277 
means of becoming more intimately acquainted with its manners 
ana habits, which may possibly be as interesting to a few others 
as they were to us, and therefore we beg leave to add the follow- 
ing particulars to the natural history of that bird. 
About the middle of July we discovered a nest (on an old stump 
of a tree upon a bank) not quite finished, which we suspected to 
belong to this bird; and on visiting it again on the 25th we found 
that it contained four eggs, which proved to be those of the bird 
in question; two of these were taken away, and in a few days two 
others were deposited *, which, with the other two before left, 
were suffered to remain, in order to become acquainted, as much 
as possible, with the natural history of this species. 
On the 12th of August we revisited the nest, and found the 
young had been hatched some days, as they could see, and had 
thrown out some stubs in the wings; so that the time of incuba- 
tion could not have been more than twelve or thirteen days. 
On the 15th we took two young ones from the nest, with a view 
of rearing them by hand, and left the others as a reserve, in case 
of failure: these birds did not thrive on bread and bruised turnip- 
seed, or such food as is generally given to the smaller hard-billed 
birds, the goldfinch, linnet, and others, and became so weak that 
they refused all sustenance. In this debilitated state we returned 
them to the nest on the 18th, and took the other two, which bad 
prodigiously exceeded these in growth. 
Observing on the side of the bill of one of the last taken, the 
mltatoreal leg of the common grasshopper, Gnjllus grossus, it was 
a sufficient hint to procure as much as possible those insects for 
their food : and by the assistance of a little boiled flesh, beef or 
* Whether it is unusual for this species to lay six eggs cannot be determined; but in 
the two or three other nests that have come within our knowledge, either with eggs or 
young, four or five only were found in them. 
mutton. 
