NON-INDIGENOUS BRITISH BIRDS. jj 



shaped. Externally it is composed of twigs, dry grass, 

 and moss, then lined with mud, and finally lined with 

 fine dry grass and sometimes a few roots. When dis- 

 turbed at the nest the Redwing often becomes very 

 clamorous, like its near relative the Song Thrush, 

 fluttering to and fro in anxiety, uttering harsh grating 

 notes. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Redwing are from four to six in 

 number. They are bluish-green in ground colour, 

 mottled and spotted with reddish-brown or greenish- 

 brown. As a rule but little of the ground colour is 

 visible, the markings covering most of the surface, and 

 many of them are confluent. One variety has the 

 surface colour distributed in streaky marks ; another 

 has most of the spotting confluent and in a zone round 

 the larger end of the tgg ; another is clear green and 

 almost spotless, but this latter type is exceptional. 

 Average measurement, '98 inch in length by 75 inch 

 in breadth. Incubation, performed chiefly by the female, 

 lasts from thirteen to fifteen days. 



Diagnostic characters : The eggs of the Redwing 

 are readily distinguished from those of all other Pate- 

 arctic Thrushes by their small s'ze, and by the markings 

 which are normally small. 



