160 BIRDS' NESTS AND NESTING WAYS 



ness in its choice of an abode. I have known 

 a pair to build in a hole in a wall to which they 

 could only gain access by darting between the 

 revolving spokes of a mill wheel.' 



The wren is another well-known dome-build- 

 ing bird, choosing often the overhanging brows 

 of burns or banks or quarries, crevices in rocks, 

 ivy-clad walls and such-like well-protected 

 places. They use a great variety of material, 

 restricting themselves, however, mainly to one 

 substance in each case ; one nest, for instance, 

 will be chiefly composed of oak leaves, another 

 of moss, and so on. Many are lined with 

 feathers, others are unlined ; it has therefore 

 been sometimes held that the latter were merely 

 sleeping places, or winter houses ; but Gray x 

 says that of six examples examined by him, and 

 all without feathers, each contained eggs. It is 

 nevertheless evident, from the number of nests 

 found in a restricted area, that some are built 

 and used for residential purposes only. 



The most artistic and beautiful of the dome 

 nests is doubtless that of the long-tailed tit. 

 Firmly fixed to the branch of a tree, or in the 

 middle of some thick bush, it is closely woven 

 or felted together, the moss and other material 

 made dense and secure with wool and spiders' 



1 Birds of the West of Scotland. 



