PERCHING BIRDS. 65 
noticed five robins in full song at the same time, and 
within a stone’s throw of each other, three of them 
occupying the position I have named, while the other 
two were perched on the corners of high chimneys. 
I have met with the robin in the wildest and most 
solitary parts of the forest, but chiefly during the sum- 
mer ; yet, though favourable as such seclusion is, I have 
rarely found them nesting in such situations. A sunny 
bank at the foot of a hedgerow, or sometimes in the 
lower part of the hedge itself, and various positions in 
gardens, are most commonly chosen. I have several 
times found a nest placed on the top rail of a row of 
espalier white currants in my own garden, about four 
feet from the ground. 
The eggs frequently vary in their markings, but I 
have never found the eggs in the same nest to do so. 
I have seen them where the ground colour has only been 
removed from white by the faintest possible tinge, and 
they have been uniformly marked all over with pale 
red. Generally, however, the ground is of a delicate 
pale reddish-brown colour, freckled with a slightly darker 
shade, and forming at the large end a dark and distinct 
zone. 
The pretty Redstart (S. Phenicurus) is one of our 
handsomest summer visitors, and though abundantly 
distributed, its quiet and wary habits would lead a care- 
less observer to think it uncommon. But this is far 
from being the case. If you ramble in the forest, fol- 
lowing one of the grassy paths which wind their way 
amongst the ancient oaks, or seat yourself on a moss- 
covered root, you can hardly fail to see this lively little 
bird restlessly flitting about. Its nest is most commonly 
placed in a decayed oak-tree, whose hollow trunk and 
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