54 Baby Birds at Home 



People who dislike the name of Sparrow 

 for this species call it the Hedge Accentor, 

 and in many parts of the country it is known 

 as the " Dunnock." 



The nest is made of slender twigs, rootlets, 

 dead grass and moss; the inside being neatly 

 lined with pieces of wool, hair, feathers, and 

 down. Slender twigs are only used sparingly 

 for the foundations, and are sometimes absent 

 altogether. It is a very pretty sight to 

 watch a Hedge Sparrow lining her nest. 

 She places each piece of hair or down where 

 she intends it to stay, and then twirling 

 round and round presses her breast against 

 the inside of the structure, thus giving the 

 lining a smooth felt-like appearance. 



The eggs are of a beautiful turquoise blue 

 colour and number from four to six. 



Baby Hedge Accentors grow very quickly, 

 and when they leave the nest scatter and tell 

 their parents where to find them with food 

 by constantly calling in low sweet notes. 

 The chicks shown in the accompanying illus- 

 tration belonged to a second brood reared 

 in the same nest, and only fledged when the 

 apples in the writers orchard were quite 

 large at the end of July. 



