324 



BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 



FEMALE REDSTART. 



sparingly distributed over 

 England, Wales, and Scot- 

 land, but rarely met with in 

 Ireland. According to my ex- 

 perience, it is far more numer- 

 ous in the dales in the north of 

 England and in the Welsh 

 valleys than anywhere else. 



Materials. Dead grass, 

 rootlets, and leaves, with 

 an inner lining of hair and 

 feathers. 



Eggs. Four to six, occa- 

 sionally eight, although I have never seen more than 

 seven, of a pale, bluish-green, unspotted, and polished. 

 Some text-books say, sometimes with a few faint 



red specks, but I 

 have never found 

 a clutch of eggs 

 marked in any way. 

 Situation of nest 

 prevents confusion 

 with Hedge Spar- 

 row, and a sight of 

 parent birds distin- 

 guishes eggs from 

 those of Pied Fly- 

 catcher. All these 

 three species fre- 

 quently breed in the 

 same locality. Size 

 about .75 by .54 in. 

 (See Plate IV.) 

 Time. May, 



REDSTART'S NESTING PLACE. J Une, and 



