SPARROW-HAWK 39 



portion of the nest, smaller and finer ones the cavity in which 

 the eggs are laid. If built in the fir- woods, the branches of 

 that tree are almost exclusively used, the withered ones being 

 seemingly preferred, although a few living sprays are some- 

 times woven amongst the rest, and give the nest a bright and 

 pleasing appearance with their emerald-green bursting buds. 

 From the fact that these birds pair for life, the same nest 

 will not unfrequently be used in successive seasons, being 

 patched up each spring, as occasion demands." 



The eggs, which are of a very distingut appearance, 

 are of a rotund form, bluish white in colour, much blotted, 

 particularly at the base, with very deep reddish brown, and 

 from three to five or six, or even seven in number. They 

 vary, however, very frequently in their markings, which, in 

 some instances, are obscure and indistinct ; and in others, the 

 dark blots are at the smaller instead of at the larger end. 



