4 WINTER AND THE ROBINS, AND HOW 
planted by Queen Ann.) The nest was 
comfortably tucked into a cavity in the 
tottering trunk where once a branch grew. 
The limb had decayed and was sawn off close, 
and further rot had enlarged the hole. It 
was also partly supported by some young 
twigs, almost the dying effort of the aged 
stump. It was beautifully made of the dead 
and curled-up leaves of a privet (of which 
several bushes grew close by), on a found- 
ation of sticks, and was neatly and plenti- 
fully lined with small soft feathers of various 
kinds. (This nest shows how birds often 
vary the material of their nests, choosing 
that which is nearest and the easiest to find. 
See the description of the usual nest of a 
robin further on.) The eggs were a reddish- 
white speckled all over with darker red. 
The birds must have been building on 
Christmas day! Almost a record time of 
the year this, for a robin’s nest with eggs! 
How the nest would have fared is a matter 
of conjecture, but some thoughtless child 
checked all further development by robbing 
