NESTS OF BIRDS. 175 



tor erecting their temporary habitations ; for the nests of birds, 

 those of the eagle kind excepted, after the young have corne 

 to maturity, are forever abandoned by the parents. 



To describe minutely the nests of birds would be a vain 

 attempt. Such descriptions could not convey an adequate 

 idea of their architecture to a person who had never seen one 

 of those beautiful and commodious habitations, which even 

 astonish and excite the amazement of children. 



The different orders of birds exhibit great variety in the 

 materials and structure of their nests. Those of the rapa- 

 cious tribes are in general rude, and composed of coarse 

 materials, as dried twigs, beats, &/c. But they are often lined 

 with soft substances. They build in elevated rocks, ruinous 

 and sequestered castles and towers, and in other solitary re- 

 tirements. The aerie or nest of the eagle is quite flat, and 

 not hollow, like those of other birds. The male and female 

 commonly place their nest between two rocks, in a dry and 

 inaccessible situation. The same nest, it is said, serves the 

 eagle during life. The structure is so considerable, and com- 

 posed of such solid materials, that it may last many years. 

 Its form resembles that of a floor. Its basis consists of sticks 

 about five or six feet in length, which are supported at each 

 end, and these are covered with several layers of rushes and 

 heath. An eagle's nest was found in the Peak of Derbyshire, 

 which Willoughby describes in the following manner : ' It 

 was made of great sticks, resting one end on the edge of a 

 rock, the other on a birch tree. Upon these was a layer of 

 rushes, and over them a layer of heath, and upon the heath 

 rushes again ; upon wkich lay one young eagle and an addle 

 egg, and by them a lamb, a hare, and three heathpouts. The 

 nest was about two yards square, and had no hollow in it.' 

 But the butcher-birds, or shrikes, which are less rapacious 

 than eagles and hawks, build their habitations in shrubs and 

 bushes, and employ moss, wool, and other soft materials. 



The common magpies build their nests in trees, and their 

 structure is admirably contrived for affording warmth and 

 protection to the young. The nest is not open at top : it is 

 covered in the most dextrous manner, with an arch or dome, 

 and a small opening in the side of it is left, to give the parents 

 an opportunity of passing in and out at their pleasure. To 

 protect their eggs and young from the attacks of other ani- 

 mals, the magpies place, all around the external surface of 

 their nest, sharp briers and thorns. The long-tailed titmouse, 

 or ox-eye, builds nearly like the wren, but with still greatei 



