EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 49 
one occasion finding one in the stump of a rotten tree 
which had broken off about eleven feet from the ground ; 
they are also found in pollard willows. The nest is chiefly 
composed of moss, small fine grass, fibrous roots, wool, 
horse and cow-hair. The eggs number from four to six, 
and are of a grey colour, speckled with light umber-brown. 
J THE HERON, 
Tue Heron lays four or five eggs of a pale blue, with a 
tinge of green. Her nest is composed of a very liberal 
collection of sticks, and is lined in the interior with wool, 
and occasionally rags. It is situated on the tops of high 
trees. Like the Rooks, Herons build in societies, which 
are called heronries. 
THE WOODCOCK. 
Tue Woodcock lays four eggs of a yellow-white colour, 
blotched with pale chestnut-brown. Her nest is generally 
found amongst the underwood at the foot of a tree, where 
she does not appear to try to avoid its being seen, but 
scratches a slight hollow, lining it with dead leaves and 
the withered fronds of the bracken. Although the great 
bulk of these birds are migrants, it is now proved beyond 
doubt that many are bred yearly in this country. Like 
the Partridge, Grouse, &c., the young leave the nest as 
soon as hatched, and are most carefully looked after by the 
parent bird. 
D 
