84 BRITISH BIRDS 1 NESTS. 



Situation and Locality. On the horizontal 

 branches of fruit trees trained against walls, in 

 trellis-work, rose trees trained against houses, in 

 holes in walls, ivy climbing up a wall or the trunk 

 of a tree (as in our illustration', on ledges of rock, 

 and in almost every conceivable situation. 



Materials. These vary as considerably as the 

 positions selected for their accommodation. Straws, 

 fibrous roots, moss, hair, feathers, rabbits' down, 

 and cobwebs, somewhat loosely put together, as a 

 rule, but occasionally I have come across a very 

 compact little structure. 



Eggs. Four to six, generally five, varying con- 

 siderably in coloration. The ground-colour ranges 

 from grey to light green, the markings running 

 through various shades of faint red or reddish- 

 brown. Sometimes they are almost entirely absent, 

 at others they form a belt round the larger end, and 

 I have met with them with large, bright rust-red 

 spots thickly distributed over the entire surface. 

 Size about *75 by -57 in. 



Time. May, June, and July. 



Remarks. Migratory, arriving in the early part 

 of May and leaving in September and October. 

 Notes : a weak chirp and a harsh call-note. Local 

 and other names: Beam-bird, Rafter, Bee-bird, Chan- 

 chider, Cherry-sucker, Bee-eater, Post-bird, Cherry- 

 chopper. Sits closely, and flys away without 

 demonstration when disturbed. 



