126 NOTES TO THE 



hollow trees and holes of walls ; the nest is variously composed of 

 moss, grass, and dry leaves, and is often lined with a little hair. 

 The eggs are much smaller, but are of the same colour, as those 

 of the hedge accentor. They are more pointed in form than 

 those of that bird, and are from five to eight in number. This 

 kind is very common in the southern parts of England. G. 

 NAPIER. 



THE HEDGE-SPARROW (Accentor modularius), p. 174. It forms 

 its nest of moss, to which wool is frequently added ; an outside 

 fortification of sticks guards it ; the inside is lined with hair, 

 either of the horse or cow. But the nest is sometimes chiefly, if 

 not entirely, composed of grass. The eggs are always of an 

 unspotted blue green, which varies little in shade ; they are from 

 five to six in number. It breeds from March to June. This 

 bird has a pretty plaintive little song, and is a free singer in a 

 cage. A good bird is worth five shillings. 



WRYNECK, p. 175. This is a migratory bird, arriving here in the 

 middle of April and leaving about the end of August. It breeds in 

 the holes of trees and feeds on banks on ants, and on insects under 

 the bark of trees ; they are easily raised from the nest, but "caught 

 birds" will never feed. The young should be fed on scraped beef 

 and hard boiled egg. It is called the cuckoo's mate, because it 

 arrives about the same time as the cuckoo. It is also called the 

 "snake bird," because it has a curious habit of twisting its head 

 right round over its back like a snake. This habit can be easily 

 observed when a live wryneck is held in the hand. The wryneck 

 is an easily caught bird, and is sure to come into the net if the 

 ground is turned up and a fresh " scrape " is made under a hedge, 

 when laying for the summer bird tribe or soft-billed birds. 



The toes of the wryneck are very peculiar ; there are four on 

 each leg, two long toes outside, the short toes are inside. This 

 is a most peculiar formation, well adapted for climbing a tree. 

 They are wonderful runners on the bark, and will deceive 

 by running round the back of a tree. 



" The wryneck (Yunx torquilla)," writes Mr. Napier, " places its 

 six to ten eggs in the holes of trees. They are usually pure 

 white when blown ; but I have several which have a slight tinge 

 of green. Before being blown, they are of a fine salmon colour, 

 owing to the transparent nature of the shell ; they have less 

 lustre than the woodpecker's. The wryneck lays its eggs on chips 

 of rotten wood, to which it sometimes adds a few feathers 

 and moss. It is widely distributed, and is a summer visitor 

 to this country." 



