58 CURIOUS NEST IN A. BELL-TOWER. 



step, which alone would give them the best foun- 

 dation for their intended work. Had they gone 

 to the one above, or to the one below that which 

 they had so sagaciously fixed upon, it was very 

 evident that they would not have acquired that 

 precise slope or angle for their pillar, which 

 was necessary for the effectual support of the 

 nest. It was the eighth step below the opening, 

 and from it the pillar was raised to a heighth of 

 exactly ten feet, and was composed of a strong 

 stack-like work of sticks. The nest then rested 

 upon the top of it, and was perfectly secure. 

 The labour, which these ingenious and industrious 

 birds had bestowed in the collection of so large 

 a mass of sticks, must have been enormous. One 

 circumstance struck me as very curious. The 

 entrance of the aperture in the wall was very 

 narrow ; the difficulty of conveying some of 

 the larger sticks through it must have been con- 4 

 sequently great. On examining the sticks, I 

 found that each of them had been broken, or 

 rather cracked exactly in the centre, so that 

 they could be doubled up. They were thus 

 also the better adapted for the construction of 

 the stack in a compact form. The accompany- 

 ing sketch, for which I am indebted to the 

 kindness of a lady at Eton, will perhaps give a 

 better idea of the position of the nest and the 

 pillar of sticks, than my description of them. I 



