PERCHING BIRDS. 53 
based upon the simple fact, that the nest I mentioned 
above as having been found in the fork of an oak, had 
no clay or mud whatever in its structure; for having 
pulled it to pieces I found it was made of birch twigs, 
with moss worked into the interstices, and lined with a 
quantity of dry grass ; the outside was neatly ornamented 
with bits of lichen like that on the boughs on which it 
rested, withered oak leaves being here and there inserted 
and left to hang down and add to the general conceal- 
ment. In other nests I have found clay used, but it is 
evident that their method of construction is variable. 
In 1853 a nest came under my notice which, from the 
singularity of its lining material, proves what I have 
said, that the missel thrush does not adhere to one un- 
varying rule in its constructive plans. On the 5th of 
May in that year one of the labourers in the pleasure 
grounds at Thoresby Park, observing something white 
hanging from the bough of a cedar which stands in the 
grounds near the entrance from the courtyard, climbed 
up the tree, and at the height of about thirty feet from 
the ground discovered the nest of one of these birds, 
daintily lined with a piece of lace, and a lace cap and 
collar. These articles had been missed, and nothing 
could be learnt respecting them until the white string of 
the cap, dangling in the wind, led to the discovery of 
the lost treasures. They were carefully laid round the 
interior of the nest, and on the unwonted lining, which 
was not in the least soiled, were deposited two eggs. 
The drying ground is situated on the outskirts of the 
pleasure grounds, about forty or fifty yards from the 
tree, and from this spot had the articles been. purloined 
by the mysterious thief. 
The missel thrush 1s an early singer, and though it 
