106 PASSERES. MUSCICAPAD^E. 



that in outlets about towns, where mosses, lichens, 

 gossamer, &c., cannot be obtained, birds do not 

 make nests so peculiar each to its species, as they 

 do in the country. Thus the nest of the town 

 Chaffinch has not that elegant appearance, nor is 

 it so beautifully studded with lichens as those in 

 the rural districts ; and the Wren is obliged to 

 construct its nest with straws and dry grasses, 

 which do not give it that roundness and compact- 

 ness so remarkable in the usual edifices of that 

 little architect. The nest in question was not 

 lined with feathers and spiders' webs, as is gene- 

 rally the case. 



" I have myself discovered the Flycatcher's 

 nest in very odd situations ; one behind a decayed 

 piece of bark attached to an elm tree in Hampton- 

 court Park, and another concealed amongst the 

 ornaments of the beautiful iron gates of Hamp- 

 ton-court Gardens. In Mr. Whitens unpublished 

 notes, he mentions a Flycatcher having built its 

 nest in a very peculiar manner on a shelf fixed 

 to the wall of an out-house, and behind the head 

 of an old rake lying on the shelf. Indeed the 

 bird would appear to have a partiality for the 

 last mentioned implement, for in London's * Ma- 

 gazine of Natural History,' it is stated that a 

 Flycatcher's nest was built upon a wooden rake 

 lying on the ground in a cottage garden at Barns- 

 ford, near Worcester. In this nest the female 

 laid eggs, and even sat on them, indifferent to 

 any one passing in the garden."* 



" A curious circumstance," observes Mr. Yar- 

 rell, " in reference to this bird, has been noticed 

 by Thomas Andrew Knight, Esq., the President 



* Jesse's " Gleanings," p. 247. 



