THE REDSTART.* 229 



by a prickly defence of thorns, &c., they had built their little 

 warm nest without fear of molestation. The interior of a skull, 

 as well as the interior of a Magpie's nest, were (however singu- 

 lar) at least better suited to the sedentary life of a bird when 

 sitting on her eggs than the noisy workshop of a brassf ounder's 

 factory ; yet in such an unlooked-for place did a female Wagtail 

 once build her nest, within a foot of the wheel of a lathe, in 

 the midst of the din of hammers and braziers. There, un- 

 molested and unconcerned, she hatched four young ones. The 

 cock, not reconciled to such a scene, instead of taking his part 

 in feeding the nestlings, carried the food he collected to a spot 

 on the roof, where he left it till the hen fetched it when wanted. 

 She became quite familiar with the men who were constantly 

 employed in the shop, and flew in and out without showing signs 

 of fear ; but if a stranger approached she immediately flew off 

 her nest, or, if absent, would not return until he had departed. 



We once found a Wagtail's nest under the half-deck of a 

 pleasure boat which was anchored on a sheet of water. Several 

 times, from the discovery of the nest to the final departure of 

 the young ones, we embarked and sailed about, the old birds 

 keeping a look-out upon our motions, and frequently alighting 

 on the gunwale, and finally rearing and flying off with their 

 brood. 



The Redstart, one of our prettiest summer birds of passage, 

 though in its general habits very shy, is frequently, in the 

 choice of position for its nest, the very reverse. We remember 

 one which built in the narrow space between the gudgeons or 

 upright iron on which a garden door was hung ; the bottom 

 of the nest, of course, resting on the iron hinge, which must 

 have shaken it every time the door was opened. Nevertheless, 

 there she sat, in spite of all this inconvenience and publicity, 

 exposed as she was to all who were constantly passing to and fro. 



Amongst Eobins, many instances of strange selection have 

 come to our knowledge, quite as singular as those hitherto 

 mentioned. Thus, we know 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., hav- 

 ing been occasionally found amongst the shelves, without any 



