NATURE'S CAROL SINGERS. 



considerable height, and commence to 

 wheel and turn as if by some magically 

 communicated command. 



At one moment they look like a thick 

 black cloud, and at another like a long 

 trail of grey smoke. Every turn and 

 twist, opening and closing of the whole 

 flock, is performed with a grace and pre- 

 cision of movement which is wonderful 

 to behold. 



Starlings nest in holes in trees, rocks, 

 and old ruins ; under the roofs of 

 houses, in the thatch of ricks and out- 

 buildings, and sometimes under large 

 stones on steep hillsides. I have also 

 known them breed amongst sticks form- 

 ing the base of an Osprey's eyrie which 

 was occupied by young ones. A year 

 or two ago I found an open -topped 

 nest containing chicks in an evergreen, 

 where a Blackbird or Thrush might 

 have been expected to breed. Green 

 Woodpeckers are constantly turned out 

 of their laboriously dug holes by mem- 

 bers of this species in search of suit- 

 able nesting quarters. 



The nest is a loosely-put-together struc- 

 ture composed of straws, rootlets, and 

 bits of moss, with a lining of hair, feathers, 

 and occasionally a lock of wool. I have 

 224 



