142 The Irish Naturalist. Oct.-Xov., 



Tliese males build tlie frame in from one to one and a half 

 days. It is a complete nest only that it never has the 

 inside lining of fine roots or grass or hair. He kept on 

 and oft at this piling of willow-down till at least the ist 

 June. I found another such lonely male's nest (C) on the 

 3rd June. He was also at a last year's site. It must 

 have been made for some time as I had known he was there, 

 and it was well decorated with the usual willow-down. 

 But what was m}^ surprise to find him on the 7th with a 

 second nest C2, and " curiouser " still carrying the down 

 from the first to the second ; finally by the nth stripping 

 the first of every speck of decoration. On the 19th June 

 I found all the decoration gone from C2 — plainly to C3, 

 but I did not find C3. On the 24th, however, I found 

 him beginning another nest, which would be at least C4. 

 On the nth June I found another male (D) building, but 

 he was lucky in getting a mate soon as there was an egg 

 on the I7th. On the 19th June I found another such 

 nest, B, well decorated, and it must have been there a 

 long time as I had known of the male's presence for long. 

 On the 23rd he began another, B2. On the 24th June I 

 found another m.ale (E), building. 



B2, C4, and E got little or no decoration as willow-down 

 was now scarce. I was nearly tired of watching these 

 various nests, but on July 3rd the bird A suddenly stopped 

 the usual loud and ceaseless singing, and on July 5th I 

 saw he had a mate, as I suspected. On the 7th July C 

 had also got a mate, and on the same day I found B with 

 four fresh eggs but laid in Bi, not B2. The singing had 

 all stopped. C brought out a brood, but circumstances 

 prevented my getting the nest, it was not in Ci, C2, or C4, 

 though close at hand. I could not be certain about A's 

 brood. The final nest was probabl}^ cut away. Ki was 

 never occupied. A, B, and C thus all got mates in the 

 last days of June. C2 was 20 \^ards from Ci ; C4 was 

 35 yards from C2 ; B2 was 90 yards from Bi ; A, Ci, and 

 C2 were in hedges ; C4, Bi, and B2, D, and E were in 

 weeds or the like. 



These lonely males are most plainly distinguishable, as 

 follows. They advertise their presence in the most public 



