A CHAT ABOUT BIRDS. Ill 



their construction. Compare these cups of dried grass and 

 straws with the wonderful nest of the Song Thrush with its 

 well-garnished coating of cow-dung, which affords such excellent 

 protection to the young from the cold East winds of early 

 Spring the moss and lichen cup of the Chaffinch, the marvel- 

 lous homestead of the Long Tailed Titmouse or the homely 

 little Hedge Sparrow ; the latter is a plain bird so far as Nature 

 has adorned it, but a pretty and attractive nest does it build, 

 laying such lovely blue eggs, and. a delicate songster withal. 

 How pleasingly contrasting. 



In this particular respect, I might go on comparing the 

 materials with which the nests of our feathered pets are con- 

 structed, and the mode of their construction. I might contrast 

 the rude bare nest of the Nightjar, Landrail, or Plover, with 

 the chips of wood and a few feathers which serve as the home 

 of the Owls and the Woodpeckers; the rude and rugged nests 

 of Gulls, Guillemots, Cormorants, Eagles, Falcons, and the like 

 placed in rocky, inaccessible precipices and precarious over- 

 hanging crags with the humble home of the Chiff Chaff 

 and the Willow Wren, or the huge nests of the Jackdaw, Jay, 

 and Magpie, with the shingle beach and the golden sand 

 shore which serves as a nest for the Terns to lay their freck- 

 led egg shells on. 



Then I might contrast the House Sparrow's wonderful attempt 

 at building a domicile, with the plaster cup of the Martin 

 and the tunnels of the Sand Martin ; or the apology for a 

 nest comprised of fish bones generally - of the Kingfisher by 

 the side of the bubbling rivulet, or the rush nest by the 

 water's edge of the Moorhen and the Little Grebe. I might 

 go on and on again, but I think I have already said enough 

 to show in a degree the difference and divergence which a 

 patient and attentive observer may single out. 



This little chat would certainly be far from complete without 

 a reference to the vocal powers of our British Birds. The 

 mention of the last three words reminds me that as a result 

 of the destruction which has been carried on amongst them, 

 only about 1 80 varieties now breed regularly in the British 

 Isles. When we consider the amount of good which birds do 

 and that without their aid vegetation would probably suffer 



