T909. Moffat. — The use of Domed Nests* 163 



that in any such case the bird would safely rear her six young 

 ones. At any rate, the chances against her doing so must be 

 heavy. 



This danger does not occur in the case of a domed nest ; 

 and though it does not follow that the primary object of the 

 dome is to avert "bubbling over," the dome at any rate 

 serves that purpose, and enables dome-building birds like the 

 Wren and Long-tailed Titmouse to rear families twice as large 

 as it would be possible for them to rear without it. As regards 

 the Magpie and the dome-building Warblers, the advantage 

 is less marked, but it is still, I think, only a difference of 

 degree. 



If, now, we look at the birds which in this countr}' habitually 

 lay more than five eggs, we shall see that there is in every 

 case some special provision either in the shape or the situation 

 of the nest, or else in the state of development in which the 

 young are hatched, which makes the efficient production of 

 the larger number possible. The Wheatear and Redstart, the 

 Great, Blue, and Coal Titmice, and the Tree-Creeper, Sand- 

 Martin, Starling, Jackdaw, and Kingfisher secure this object 

 by placing their nests in holes. The Stonechat, Whinchat, and 

 Grasshopper- Warbler achieve it in a less perfect manner by 

 nesting on the ground. In the case of this latter method it 

 must be observed that though a young bird pushed out of a 

 ground-built nest is not in the same extreme peril as if the 

 nest had been in a tree — since in that case it could never 

 hope to return — its situation is still somewhat unhappy, and 

 the more so if the nest from which it has been squeezed out is 

 still too crowded to permit of its easily finding its way back. 

 Accordingly, none of our ground-nesting birds lay veiy large 

 clutches except those whose young are able to quit the nest 

 almost as soon as hatched. In those cases, illustrated bv the 

 various Ducks and by the Partridge, Corncrake, and Water- 

 hen, we meet with clutches as large as among the nesters in 

 holes and the constructors of domes. 



Then there are a few cases that fall under none of the above 



heads. The Swallow lays six ^^'g^ in an open nest in an 



elevated situation. But the Swallow is, in the first place, so 



indifferent to concealment that she does not mind building a 



wide, roomy nest in which crowding is much less likelv to 



A 2 



