30 THE SMALLER BRITISH BIRDS. 



from her nest, from which she flies but a short distance, and to which 

 she quickly returns, as soon as the immediate danger is withdrawn. 

 Macgillivray, on the authority of Mr. Weir, gives an account of a 

 pair who built their nest in an old wall close by a quarry, within 

 reach and sight of four men who were constantly working there, and 

 occasionally blowing up the limestone with gunpowder; they flew in 

 and out of the nest without exhibiting the least signs of fear, evidently 

 recognizing the workmen, for if a stranger came near to them they 

 left the nest, and would not return until he had removed a consider- 

 able distance from it. Another pair built under the platform at the 

 top of a coal-pit, which was shaken every time the coals came up; 

 they too knew the colliers and the people dwelling close about, and 

 suffered them to come within a few inches of their nest without seem- 

 ing to be at all alarmed. But the pair mentioned by Mr. Jesse, as 

 fulfilling their parental duties amid the din of a brazier's workshop, 

 where they had built, was perhaps the most extraordinary of all: 

 "The nest," he says, "was built near the wheel of a lathe, which 

 revolved within a foot of it. In this strange situation the bird hatched 

 four young ones; but the male, not having accustomed himself to 

 such company, instead of feeding the nestlings himself, as is usual, 

 carried such food as he collected to a certain spot in the road, 

 where he left it, from whence it was borne by the female bird to 

 her young. It is still more remarkable that she was perfectly familiar 

 with the men into whose shop she had intruded, and flew in and out 

 without fear. If by chance a stranger, or any other persons employed 

 in the same factory, entered the room, she would, if in her nest, 

 instantly quit it, or if absent, would not return; the moment, however, 

 they were gone, she resumed her familiarity." 



Neville Wood relates that a rat-catcher, having left an old wooden 

 trap, with one side gone, in an out-house, he was surprised to see a 

 Pied Wagtail issue from it, and to find its half-finished nest in one 

 corner. He let the trap remain, and soon the structure was completed; 

 in due course five eggs were deposited therein, and on them the hen 

 bird sat fast even when closely approached and looked at. This bird 

 has its peculiar beats or haunts, and the absence of all walls in the 

 neighbourhood induced it to make choice of so singular a nesting 

 place. Mr. Wood has found the nest of this species on the branch 

 of a laurel or other thick bush, and here the structure has displayed 

 more art and ingenuity than usual. 



