BliLTlSH BIRDS' NESTS. 139 



purplisli-buff ; belly, veiit, and iiuder tail-coverts 

 nearly white. Legs, toes, and claws brown. 



The female is very similar to the male in 

 appearance. 



Situation, and Locality. — In a tall thick bush, 

 hedgerow, or young tree ; sometimes in evergreens, 

 such as the yew and holly ; in woods and plantations 

 with a tliick undergrowth. Throughout the British 

 Isles, nowhere very plentifully, but scarcer in some 

 districts than others. 



Materials. — Sticks, small twigs, mud, fibrous 

 roots, and grass. Well built, as a rule, and some- 

 what like a large blackbird's nest. 



Eggs. — Five to seven. Ground colours dusky 

 green, tinged with blue, thickly spotted and freckled 

 with light olive-brown. The markings are generally 

 uniformly distributed, but are sometimes confluent 

 at the larger end, where there are occasionally 

 several irregular blackish-brown lines. Size about 

 1-25 by -9 in. 



Time. — April and May. 



Bemarhs. — Eesident. Note, a harsh, rapidly- 

 delivered kind of chatter, sounding like ra-l-e, rake. 

 Local and otlier names : Jay Piet, Jaypie. Not a 

 very close sitter. 



KESTREL 



Description of Parent Birds. — Length about 

 thirteen inches. Bill short, much curved, and lead- 

 coloured. Bare skin round the base of the beak, 

 yellow. Irides dark brown. Head and nape of 

 the neck ash-grey, under the eye is a dusky streak. 

 Back, scapulars, and wing-coverts brownish-fawn 

 colour, spotted with black ; wing-quills black, edged 



