374 THE THRUSH FAMILY 



complete her nest between sunrise and sunset. I found it at 9.30 A.M. 

 with the outside frame of dry grass already made ; at 12.30 the mud 

 lining was completed, and a few bits of decayed wood studded over 

 it ; at 2.30 more wood had been added, and at 5.0, when I again visited 

 it, the task had been finished. If we assume that the bird started 

 work soon after sunrise, the time taken in construction would be about 

 twelve hours. The first egg was laid two days later, on May 5th, the 

 lining having been left to dry in the meanwhile. Mr. Charles Dixon, 

 in his Rural Bird Life, states that he removed a thrush's nest from an 

 exposed position three times in succession ; the first new nest was 

 built in three days, the second and third in one each, and all were well 

 made. The first egg was laid on the day following the completion of 

 the last nest. Weir, quoted by Macgillivray, gives an instance of 

 another nest begun on the Thursday, and ended on the Friday. The 

 first egg was found in the still wet nest on the Saturday. Hewitson 

 gives a similar instance, and no doubt many such could be collected, 

 both in the case of the thrush, the blackbird, and other species. 1 



IV 



In the material used for the construction of their nests our 

 Thrushes resemble one another very closely. Each nest consists 

 normally of three parts, the foundation and outside composed of a 

 variety of vegetable matter, inside this a hard plaster of mud or other 

 material, and inside this again, in the case of all except the song- 

 thrush, a lining usually of fine dry grass. 



The material used for the exterior of the nest varies considerably 

 from bird to bird within the same species. Dry grasses are largely 

 used. The prettiest nests are those having the outside made entirely 

 of compact velvety green moss. This, well set in strong forking 

 boughs, and canopied by leaves and shade, with its neat inner cup, 

 and lying there snug within it, side by side like precious jewels, the 



1 For an instance provided by a robin, see p. 439. 



