105 



WHEN. 



COMMON WREN. KITTY WREN. JIMPO. 



PLATE CXXXI. 



Sylvia troglodytes, PENTTANT. 



Jtfofacilla troglodytes, MONTAGU. BEWICK. 



Troglodytes rulf/aris, TEMMINCK. 



Troglodytes Europceus, CUTIEE. 



THE nest, very large in size in proportion to the bird, and ordinarily 

 of a spherical shape, domed over, but flattened on the side next the 

 substance against which it is placed, varies much both in form and 

 substance according to the nature of the locality which furnishes the 

 materials and a 'locus standi' for it. It is commenced early in the 

 spring, even so soon as the end of the month of March, the birds 

 pairing in February. One found by my second son, Reginald Frank 

 Morris, this autumn, in the beautiful grounds of Mulgrave Castle, near 

 Whitby, the seat of Lord Normanby, was placed against the trunk of 

 a large tree, about eight or ten feet from the ground, and was chiefly 

 composed externally of dry leaves. Others are variously made of fern 

 and moss, grass, small roots, twigs, and hay, closely resembling in 

 most cases the immediate situation in which they are placed; some are 

 lined with hair or feathers, and others not. The nest is firmly put 

 together, especially about and below the orifice, which is strengthened 

 with small twigs or moss and is in the upper half and nearly closed 

 by the feathers inside. It is in thickness from one inch to two inches, 

 ami about three inches wide within by about four in depth, and outside 

 about five wide by six deep. At times they are found on the ground, 

 and also in banks, as well as against trees, even so high up as twenty 

 feet, also under the eaves of the thatch of a building, in holes in 

 walls, the sides of stacks, among piles of wood or faggots, or the 

 bare roots of trees, and under the projection at the top of the bank 



VOL. II. P 



