NOTES ON BIRDS. $1 



I have noticed that, if it can, it will build its nest of the material 

 obtained from the tree or bank on which it builds, and so the nest is 

 well concealed from the passer by. On April 28th I found a wren's 

 nest at Leckhampton made of dry grass, and lined with moss and 

 feathers. It was on the side of a willow tree and had five eggs in it. 

 Of the eight wren's nests I have found this year this was the only 

 one with eggs, probably because I had disturbed the others too soon. 

 Three were made of dead leaves, three of dry grass and two of moss. 

 They were all on trees but one, which was in the thatched roof of a 

 shed and made of dry grass. 



THE STARLING. 

 The Starling is very common all over England. It usually 

 builds in a tree, under the eaves of a house, or in a thatched roof. 

 I once found one in a high bush about ten feet from the ground. 

 My first starling's nest this year was found at Birdlip on April 26th. 

 It was in a hole in an apple tree about six feet from the ground, was 

 made of straw and a few feathers, and contained five eggs. One day 

 at Hillcot, while walking through a field, 1 saw some starlings feeding 

 in a field and on going up to them I found an egg lying on the bare 

 ground. 



THE KESTREL-HAWK. 

 The Kestrel-Hawk is one of our commonest falcons. It is 

 often to be seen hovering almost motionless in the air and then 

 darting down so swiftly on its prey that it is difficult to follow its 

 motion. I once saw a kestrel chasing a sparrow and, the latter would 

 probably have escaped in its many twistings and turnings had it not 

 completely lost its head and flown straight at the kestrel, which bore 

 it off in triumph. The kestrel generally lays in a crow's nest, some- 

 times turning the original owner out, and I have also found one in a 

 squirrel's nest. When it does build its own nest it does so in a very 

 slovenly manner. Two years ago I found a crow's nest with eggs in 

 it which were eventually hatched and this year a kestrel took 

 possession of it without any attempt at repairs. The nest after having 

 been blown and shaken about for two years was almost level on the 

 top, and it was a marvel how the kestrel's eggs managed to stop on 

 and not roll off in a storm. There were two eggs in this nest very 

 well marked, being a dull blood red all over, strikingly different from 

 the ones I found in the squirrels nest which had some white parts, 

 and the red parts very bright and shining as if the eggs had been 

 varnished. 



