178 THE BIRDS OF SHERWOOD FOREST. 
inch and a half in diameter; but it was on one very 
much smaller than this, and close to the stem, that this 
apology for a nest was placed. It was formed of very 
slender birch twigs; but they had been so sparingly 
used that it was simply a piece of lattice work, through 
which the two eggs were distinctly visible from the 
ground, the distance being about twelve or fourteen 
feet. One of these eggs was very much larger than the 
other—a peculiarity I have noticed on several other 
occasions. I knew an instance in which a wood pigeon 
chose a very singular site for her nest; this was none 
other than a rabbit hole. A pigeon had frequently 
been seen coming out of this hole ; the mouth was there- 
fore stopped, and a cut made at some distance from it ; 
on reaching the hole the hen bird was taken, with two 
eggs which she had laid. 
In April, 1861, Mr. Sterling Howard communicated 
to the Sheffield Literary and Philosophical Society, a 
most remarkable instance of the selection of unusual 
materials for their nests by a number of domestic pigeons, 
and these were no other than horsenails! He said, 
“ Over one end of the blacksmith’s shop is a rude loft, 
in which are a number of boxes, the domiciles of the 
pigeons. The nails, which were abstracted from canvas 
bags and other receptacles, were of the ordinary kind for 
horseshoes, of various sizes, some new, others old and 
crooked. They were, however, laid with some regard to 
comfort, inasmuch as the points were not allowed to pro- 
ject upwards, but without any admixture of softer mate- 
rials This is the more singular as there was abundance 
of straw, shavings, &c., in the neighbourhood. On these 
‘iron beds’ the birds had laid their eggs, which were 
just ready for hatching when the discovery was made of 
