74 EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING. 
the bird’s own body. The eggs number six to «ight, or 
even a dozen, creamy-white, unpolished. 
J THE MUTE SWAN. 
ALTHOUGH semi-domesticated and holding its footing only 
by the help of strict protection, the Swan has been so 
long with us that it merits treatment, I think. Its nest 
is composed of reeds, rushes, and grass, with a slight lining 
of down and feathers, and is placed on small islands and 
on the banks of lakes and rivers. The eggs number from 
three or four to a dozen, according to the age of the parent 
bird, and are greenish-white, roughish, and unspotted. 
THE SHAG. 
In caves, fissures, on ledges of maritime cliffs, and amongst 
huge boulders piled up along the beach of small rocky 
islands around our coasts, may be found the nest of this 
bird. I have seen specimens close together vary con- 
siderably in size according to the accommodation. It is 
composed of seaweed, sticks, sprigs of heather, turf, and 
grass. The eggs number two, three, four, or five, generally 
one of the first two numbers, the real shell being of a 
delicate bluish-green, but difficult to see oa account of ‘the 
thick, chalky encrustation. 
THE CRESTED TIT. 
Tue nest of this pretty little bird is placed in a hole in the 
branch or trunk of a tree at varying heights from the 
