CHAPTER NINE ANIMAL INSTINCT 



her cQ-rrs are much of the same hue. Sometimes this bird 

 builds in the wall-fruit trees, when she collects substances 

 of exactly the same colour as the wall itself. 



The greenfinch, building amongst the green foliage of 

 trees, covers her nest with green moss, while her eggs re- 

 semble in colour the lining on which they are laid. The 

 yellow-hammer, again, builds on or near the ground, and 

 forming her nest outwardly of dried grass and fibres, like 

 those by which it is surrounded, lines it with horsehair; her 

 eeSTS too are not unlike in colour to her nest — while the 

 greenish brown of the bird herself closely resembles the 

 colour of the grass and twigs about her. 



The little whitethroat builds her nest on the ground, at 

 the root of a tree or in long withered grass, and carefully 

 arches it over with the surrounding herbage, and tohide her 

 little white eggs, places a leaf in front of the entrance when- 

 evershe leaves her nest. When the partridge quits her eggs 

 for the purpose of feeding,she covers them in the most care- 

 ful manner, and even closes up her run by which she goes to 

 and fro through the surrounding grass. The same plan is 

 adopted by the wild duck, who hides her eggs and nest by 

 covering them with dead leaves, sticks, and other sub- 

 stances, which she afterwards smooths carefully over so as 

 entirely to conceal all traces of her dwelling. There are 

 several domesticated wild ducks, who build their nests a- 

 bout the flower-beds and lawn near the windows — a priv- 

 ilege they have usurped rather against the will of my gar- 

 dener. Tame as these birds are, it is almost impossible to 

 catch them in the act of going to or from their nests. They 

 take every precaution to escape observation, and will wait 



