298 BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 



of the liead, aud edged with a lighter tinge on the 

 wing-qnills. Throat, breast, and under-parts pale 

 tawny yellow ; lighter on the vent aud under tail- 

 coverts. The space from the throat to the thighs 

 is studded with arrowhead-like spots. Legs and 

 toes pale brown ; claws darker. 



The female is smaller than the male, and the 

 spots on her breast are larger and the ground colour 

 lighter. 



Sif nation and Locality. — In evergreens, especially 

 early in the spring, hedgerows, bushes, in iyj growing 

 against walls and trees, in holes and on '^throughs" 

 of dry walls ; on ledges of rock, on beams and in 

 holes of barns, and sometimes quite on the ground ; 

 in woods, plantations, on commons, hedges, trees 

 and bushes growing by the side of brooks. Our 

 illustration is from a photograph taken early in 

 the spring. Throughout the British Isles, with 

 few exceptions, and those where no cover is afforded. 



Materials. — Twigs, coarse grass, moss, and clay, 

 with an inner lining of cow-dung or mud ; sometimes 

 thickly studded with bits of rotten wood. 



Eggs. — Four to six, of a beautiful deep greenish- 

 blue, spotted with black. The spots sometimes 

 describe a well-defined ring round the ; larger end, 

 at others the}^ are sparingly scattered over the 

 egg, and in rare cases are absent altogether. Very 

 variable in size. Average measurements about 1"05 

 by '8 in. 



Time. — Februar}^, March, April, May, June, aud 

 July ; sometimes as late as August, and even October. 

 I have seen the bird bravely covering her eggs when 

 the ground has been thickly mantled in snow. 



Bemarl's. — Resident, subject to local movement, 

 and partially migrator}^ Notes : call, siTx, sil-, sih, sil', 

 siJii, tsal\ tsali-. The sonof of the cock is well known 



