BRITISH BIRDS. II 



The willow, wood, and Dartford warblers make domed 

 nests among leaves on, or close to, the ground, and the 

 redstart nests in holes of trees or walls ; her six eggs are 

 dull blue. The robin nests in all manner of places, and 

 makes a loose nest somewhat like that of the nightingale ; 

 the eggs are white, spotted and streaked with brick-red. 



None of the birds in the foregoing list are eaten by cats, 

 although these animals will kill them fast enough if they 

 get the chance, for which reason, surely, they are also unfit 

 for human food. A very j^oung and inexperienced pussy, 

 or one that is on the verge of starvation, will sometimes 

 venture on one of them, but if she does swallow it, she is 

 immediately afterwards violently sick, and seldom repeats 

 the experiment. Yet most of them are greedily devoured 

 by our continental neighbours, with whom everything is 

 game that falls to their fjun. 



Seeing that all these birds consume such a large quantity 

 of destructive molluscs, worms, and insects, they should be 

 given every possible protection, instead of being relentlessly 

 persecuted as they are in many parts by the members of 

 sparrow clubs, one of whom recently advertised, with 

 apparent pride, the shameful fact that in less than two 

 years he had shot about nine hundred blackbirds and 

 thrushes. 



Had he ever calculated how much money he expended 

 in ammunition ? or given a moment's consideration to the 

 number of his worst enemies, insects, that would have been 

 eaten by these poor slaughtered birds ? 



It is no wonder that insects of all kinds increase when 

 the police appointed by Nature for their repression are so 

 ignorantly destroyed every year. 



It is curious that so shy a bird as the blackbird should 

 elect to sing in a conspicuous situation, as he often does, 

 perched in a bush or tree of no great height, and well in 



