British Birds, their Nests and Eggs. 123 



reason for this is not easy to understand, but, 

 being an arrant thief itself, the pie is perhaps 

 suspicious of birddom in -general. The pretty 

 water-ouzel, or dipper, also builds a domed nest, 

 which as a rule resembles a great boss of bright 

 green moss. The domicile of the wren is simply 

 a small edition of the last, and often contains as 

 many as seven or eight eggs. A curious habit 

 may frequently be observed in connection with 

 the wren's nesting, that of beginning several 

 structures and then abandoning them. Nests, 

 too, are not unfrequently built and occupied in 

 winter, quite a colony of wrens at this time 

 huddling together for the sake of warmth. Mr. 

 Weir watched a pair at work building, and found 

 that although the nest was commenced at seven 

 o'clock in the morning it was completed the 

 same night. There can be no question as to the 

 clever adaptation of the wren's nest to its sur- 

 roundings. When it is built in a mossy bank its 

 exterior is of moss, often with a dead leaf on the 

 outside. A nest which was against a hayrick was 

 composed outwardly of hay ; while another, in a 

 raspberry bush, was wholly composed of the 

 leaves of that plant. 



Probably the only hang-nests of British birds 

 are those of the gold-crest, reed-warbler, and 

 long-tailed titmouse. The first is usually hung 

 among the long, trailing tassels of the pine, 

 where it is most difficult to detect. It is quite 



