18 BRITISH BIRDS. 



were placed flat upon the ground, more especially on the 

 beach, where the piles of sticks rose, in one instance at 

 least, to some five feet in height. The favourite situation 

 for ground-nests was a narrow strij) of beach separated 

 from the rest of the island by a stretch of marsh {vide 

 Fig. 1). Here we coimted no less than four nests in half 

 a mile or so. One nest, presumably inhabited the year 

 before, was built upon the top of a shed. 



The most picturesque situation perhaps was occupied by 

 a nest upon a rock out at sea {vide Fig. 2). This nest 

 fitted in with the classical descriptions. It contained three 

 ferocious young, and was intolerable to the human nose 

 on accoiuit of the decomposing fish by which it was 

 surrounded. 



In building its nest nothing seems to come amiss 

 to the Osprey, and the amount of flotsam and jetsam 

 collected by one pair would make many a waggon-load. 

 The large nest aforementioned might have been the work 

 of a lifetime, and had been occupied probably many 

 years. It contained besides sticks and bundles of sea- 

 weed, fragments of many a wreck, a pheasant's skeleton, 

 a wheel of a child's mailcart, and even then the bird did 

 not stop to add such unconsidered trifles as corks of 

 bottles. Nor does the building of the home appear to 

 cease when the young are hatched, for often we observed 

 the proud parent of three well-grown young come sailing 

 along with a large bough dangling from its talons. The 

 lining of the nest is made of seaweeds, and often a layer 

 of cow-dung is added. Of the latter a large herd of semi- 

 wild cattle on the island provided a plentiful supjjly. 



As is well known, on the outskirts of its abode, the 

 Osprey is not too proud to take in lodgers, and in the tree- 

 hests it was no uncommon sight to see three or four 

 untidy structures of the Purjjle Grackle {Quiscalus 

 quiscula), nor is the ubiquitous English Sj)arrow to be 

 denied, for several pairs were to be seen in company with 

 the Grackles, chirruping familiarly as in any London slum. 



Of these small fry the owner takes little notice, though. 



