SUNDRIES. 319 



empty two hours afterwards, the nest itself remaining uninjured. In 

 the end we ascertained, from the observation of persons employed in 

 the grounds, that the plunderers were magpies ; for they had been seen 

 to visit the nests, taking away the eggs one at a time, which they 

 deposited in a safe place, and then returned for the rest. The thievish 

 propensity of these birds is well known, and the fact of their exercising 

 it on the eggs of other birds ; but their systematic mode of carrying 

 off their plunder thus deliberately to enjoy it at leisure, and leaving 

 the nestg without any trace of the depredation, in the form of broken 

 egg-shells, has probably been less the subject of remark. 



The nest of the redpole is mentioned above as one of the sufferers 

 from these plunderers. Since the plunder, the nest has been taken ; 

 it is small and compact, being in diameter about three inches and a 

 half from outside to outside, two inches in the opening, about one 

 and a quarter deep, and neatly formed of bent grass and a little 

 moss, interwoven with threads and locks of cotton, and lined with 

 feathers and willow down. It was fixed in the fork of a Scotch fir, 

 about ten or twelve feet from the ground. The bird had suffered a 

 person to take the eggs from the nest, and replace them, she hovering 

 just above him at the time, and returning to her post immediately on 

 his quitting them. The eggs were of a light colour, not white, with 

 reddish or brownish spots. 



It is said, but I know not on what authority, that the magpie was 

 unknown in this part of the kingdom (the north of Ireland,) until of 

 late years, when a certain curious lady caused a pair to be imported 

 from England. However this may be, they are now very plentiful, of 

 which we have had the most convincing evidence in the havoc they 

 have committed among our small birds ; in consequence of this we 

 have taken within a moderate extent of ground, and in the course of a 

 few days, five full grown birds, four nests, containing twenty young 

 ones, and one nest with five eggs. 



The most favourite places selected by our numerous birds, such as 

 thrushes, blackbirds, green linnets, chaffinches, &c., are evergreen 

 shrubs, especially laurels and laurustines. A situation probably of less 

 frequent occurrence is a thick bed of lavender, in which a green linnet 

 built early in the spring, but deserted her nest ; in the same bed a 

 blackbird has since established herself, and at this time (May 29,) is 

 sitting on a fine brood of five nestlings. I observe that this bird on 

 being disturbed does not fly upwards from her nest, but goes off 

 laterally through the covert, and so escapes at the other side of it 



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