SOME FEATHERED BUILDERS 19 



under a small patch of trailing bramble, I won- 

 der? One thing is certain, the broods brought 

 out under these circumstances, and in the locali- 

 ties mentioned, are far stronger than the hand- 

 reared ones. 



Ten miles of railway well known to myself 

 run through water meadows and over rough 

 common lands. It is a branch line, one of the 

 numerous connections of the great traffic lines 

 that run to the West of England. Separated 

 only by a fence from the various properties 

 that the line runs through, that rough wooden 

 boundary is their sanctuary line, and the birds 

 know it, and they take care to keep within its 

 limits. 



There is the common song-thrush, with her 

 nest flat on the ground like a lark's, half covered 

 by a young tuft of beth-vine, commonly called 

 by children Old-Man's Beard. It was only 

 when I attempted to stroke the gentle creature 

 on her head with the forefinger that she 

 moved from her home, which certainly had the 

 ground for the floor. Nightingales, whinchats, 

 stonechats, wheatears, tree-pipits, and meadow- 

 pipits are all there, with chif-chefs and willow- 

 wrens to keep them company. Firs, self-sown, 

 also furze and luxuriant broom, provide shelter 



