86 The Irish Naturalist. July-Aug., 



The nest of F was subsequently occupied. G has not 

 been occupied, but apparently a brood has been reared in 

 a later one of his series. E made at least two nests, but 

 neither of these has been occupied. D, which had its main 

 structure built on the 17th of April, was lined (implying 

 a female) on the 9th May and had two eggs on the 13th 

 May. B, which ^^■as built on the 17th April, showed a 

 female on the 23rd, which began feather lining on the 26th, 

 but had not its first egg till the 9th of May. 



It thus seems pretty plain that the males may build 

 their first nests, if not more, of a series (see C below) before 

 having a mate. I admit that the female is a very elusive 

 little lad}^ rarely giving you much chance of seeing her 

 feathering the nest, and might be somewhere about all the 

 time, but why should she delay so long in lining and laying ? 

 (see also C). 



My observations of C were more thorough. The male 

 had a nest, Ci, built in a low bush on the 17th April. On 

 the 27th he had another, C2, nearly built in St. John's-v. ort 

 at the opposite end of his domain from Ci, and 100 yards 

 from it. On the 3rd May he was building another, C3, 

 in ivy about midway between the first two. On the loth 

 May I found him (?) lodged in C2 at 9.30 p.m. On the 

 nth he was singing hard a yard from C3 and flying in and 

 out. On the 15th and 17th he was still working at the 

 latter. A bird was lodged in it at lo.o p.m. on the i8th. 

 The 19th May was the first time I got a sight of an apparent 

 mate with this male, and near C3. The next day, the 

 20th, there were some feathers in C3, and at lo.o p.m. on 

 the 2ist the female (?) was in it and one egg. On the 

 22nd I found the male was well on with another nest, C4, 

 near Ci, in an exposed sapling under trees. The male 

 when building his nests sings much, and seems to make 

 unnecessary alarms, and it was this alarm which shewed 

 him to me as back again, going in and out of C2 on the 

 27th. In the 28th I saw him at C4. On the 30th and 

 31st he was at C2 alarming and singing, and staying inside 

 for ten or fifteen minutes ; and for a w^eek later his singing 

 and interest seemed to be at this end of his domain, separated 

 from his sitting mate by my house and a wide open space. 



