16 Mr. Thompson on the Birds of Ireland. 



nivora, and placed them at the open window, which they nearly 

 filled up, hoping that their formidable aspect might deter the 

 bird from future ingress ; but the redbreast was not to be so 

 frighted " from its propriety," and made its entree as usual. 

 Its perseverance was at length rewarded by a free permission 

 to have its own way, when, as if in defiance of the ruse that 

 had been attempted to be practised upon it, the chosen place 

 for the nest was the head of a shark, (the mouth being gagged 

 may have prevented its being selected,) which was hanging on 

 the wall, the tail of an iC alligator stufPd " serving to screen it 

 from observation. During the operation of forming this nest 

 the redbreast did not in the least regard the presence of my 

 friend, but both worked away within a few feet of each other. 

 On the 1st of June I saw it seated on the eggs, which were 

 five in number : they were all productive, and the whole brood 

 in due time escaped in safety. 



That the noisy operations of the ship-builder will not pre- 

 vent the selection of a place in his immediate vicinity for nidi- 

 fication, is shown by a circumstance which came under my 

 own observation. On May 13, 1836, I saw a redbreast's nest 

 containing young in a hole apparently where a knot had been 

 in one of the timbers of the a Dunlop," then under repair in 

 the dry-dock at Belfast. It was built inside the vessel about 

 three yards from the top of the timber, (the deck was off,) and 

 at the time of its construction, as at present, the deafening pro- 

 cess of driving in the tree-nails was carried forward, and oc- 

 casionally so close to the nest. 



An observant friend discovering a redbreast's nest in which 

 the bird was seated, remarked its apparent stupidity, and ha- 

 ving lifted it off the eggs and laid it on his open hand, it 

 sought not, and indeed seemed to want the power, to escape. 

 He placed it in the nest again, and returning the next day 

 found the young brood out. The appearance of the bird on 

 the previous day it was now presumed had been caused by its 

 extreme intentness on the last stage of incubation. 



But in such an instance as the following, any notice of the 

 well-known pugnacity of the redbreast would be supereroga- 

 tory. On one occasion I saw two of these birds fighting most 

 wickedly in the air, and then alighting to take breath, which, 



