Stone-chat 129 



low-stunted one of k-z feet in height, the position of the nest in a 

 20-30 yard circle becomes, by a process of elimination, rather 

 narrowed down. I do not think, using ordinary intelligence, 

 and knowing zdien to look for them and u'hcre, that the nests are 

 as hard to find as is generally supposed. 



A full clutch of eggs varies in number from four to six. The 

 earlier clutches seldom exceed four or live : I have never found six 

 eggs before the latter end of April or beginning of May, and it is 

 probable that the increased fertility at that time has some relation 

 to the more abundant suppl}- of food, and to the higher average 

 temperature. In colour, when fresh and unblown, they are a delicate 

 Cambridge-blue with an almost pinkish tinge from the contained 

 yolk. This blue ground is lightly freckled with pale rust-coloured 

 spots, especially towards the larger ends. After being blown, and 

 particularly after being kept in a cabinet for some time, they fade 

 and lose a great deal of their beauty. 



The nest, as far as my experience goes, is invariably placed in 

 a small, stunted whin-bush ; alwa^^s close to the ground, and often 

 enough built up from tlie ground. In structure, it varies a good 

 deal according to the bush chosen, for in some cases the nest is 

 built up in the whin to reach some required level, and is then 

 exceedingly bulky owing to the large foundation ; while in 

 others, where the whin is very small, the nest rests directly on 

 the ground. It is not one of the best examples of avian 

 architecture, being rather loosely constructed of coarse grass 

 and moss, and other oddments, gathered in the neighbourhood, 

 and ftnished with finer grasses, rootlets, rarely a few feathers, 

 and an occasional horsehair. 



The Stone-chat, I am sure, is one of those birds which regularly 

 raise two broods in the year, whether the first nest be destroyed or 

 not. 



By way of an appendix, I tack on some notes from my 

 diar\- on the nesting of this bird in 1892 and 1893, which serve 

 to emphasize three of the points I have mentioned, viz., that 

 they are early breeders, choose low whin-bushes, and have a 

 preference for the proximity of a public road. The examples are 

 not selected in any way ; it is a record of all the nests I found 

 in these two 3'ears. 



1. Nest and five eggs ; small wliin-bush ; " Bentlings," Size- 

 well, April 1st, 1893. There is a public footway running along these 

 bentlings, and people are continually passing to and fro. In this 

 case, the nest must have been begun not later than the middle of 

 March. 



2. Xest and five eggs ; small flat whin ; " Bentlings," " Tea 

 House," April 7th, 1893 ; bird sitting hard. On blowing the eggs, 

 I found embryos of what I took to be about the fifth day, the lens 

 and iris being plainly recognisable. I saw the cock bird with a 



I 



