30 CATALOaVK OE r.fl!l>^. 



chaff leads many to confuse them. There is, how- 

 ever, a very marked difference m their song, in the 

 position and construction of their nests, and also in 

 the marking of their eggs. 



I have seen it stated that a Cuckoo's egg has been 

 found in the nest of this species. It is, of course, 

 well known that the Cuckoo occasionally carries its 

 efi'c: in its mouth, and is in that manner enabled to 

 insert it in nests that would otherwise be unapproach- 

 able to a bird of such size. I, however, am unable to 

 understand how the young Cuckoo, when arrived at 

 the proper age, would ever be enabled to make its 

 exit from its nursery ; the aperture of the nest only 

 being constructed of sufficient size to allow of the 

 entry or departure of its rightful owner. 



I have noticed these birds very busy in gardens in 

 July and August, pecking about under the leaves of 

 the currant bushes, and discovered that they were 

 making a wholesale clearance of the little green bugs 

 that infest the plants at that season. 



The specimens in the case, together with the nest, 

 were obtained in Glenlyon, in Perthshire, in June, 

 1867. 



LINNET.— (Summer.) 



Case 40. 



Brown linnets do not at the present time appear to be 

 nearly so abundant as they were in my bird-nesting 

 days, about five and twenty years ago. 



Improvements in agriculture, such as breaking up 

 of waste lands and furze-covered downs, together with 

 the persecution thoy annually suffer from the nets of 



