254 THE REDBREAST. 



have shaken it every time the door was opened. Never- 

 theless, there she sat, in spite of all this inconvenience 

 and publicity, exposed as she was to all who were con- 

 stantly passing to and fro. 



Amongst Robin Redbreasts, many instances of strange 

 selection have come to our knowledge, quite as singular 

 as those hitherto mentioned. Thus, we knew of one 

 which attempted to build in the library of a gentleman's 

 house, at least, so it was suspected, from a few suspicious 

 materials, such as dried leaves, &c., having been occa- 

 sionally found amongst the shelves, without any person 

 being able to ascertain from whence they came. Pro- 

 bably disappointed by perceiving that they were swept 

 away, as soon as deposited, the domestic bird resolved 

 to try another equally sheltered situation, and, accord- 

 ingly, selected the dining-room, which, as the family 

 never entered it till luncheon-time, she had all to herself 

 from the moment the housemaid had done her duty in 

 the morning and retired, leaving, as she was accustomed 

 to do, the window open. How long the bird had carried 

 on her operations unnoticed, we know not; but a servant 

 accidentally moving the drapery of one of the window- 

 curtains, discovered in the folds of a festoon the Robin's 

 nest. 



In this instance the bird availed itself of a situation, 

 in which, during the greater portion of the day, she was 

 in solitude and silence ; but solitude and silence do not 

 seem essential to all Robin Redbreasts, for we lately 

 heard of a pair which took possession of a pigeon-hole 

 book-shelf in a school, which was constantly frequented 

 by seventy children. The hole selected was at the 

 farthest extremity of the room, immediately above the 

 heads of a junior class of little girls from four to five 

 years of age, who, much to their credit, never disturbed 

 the bird. There she laid and hatched five eggs. One 

 of the young ones died in a few days, and the body was 

 carried off by the parent-birds. The remaining four 

 were regularly fed in the presence of the children, and 

 in due time reared. Soon after their departure the old 



