2« FIELD AND HEDGEROW. 



protection for the young birds, nor has the experience 

 of hundreds of years of nest-building taught the chaffinch 

 or the missel-thrush to give its offspring a fair start 

 in the famous ' struggle for existence.' Boys who want 

 linnets or goldfinches watch till the young are almost 

 ready to bubble over, and then place them in a cage 

 where the old birds come and feed them. There is, 

 then, no reason why the nest itself should not be 

 designed for the safety of the fledgling as well as of the 

 egg. Birds that nest in holes are frequently very 

 prolific, notably the starling, which rears its brood by 

 thousands in the hollow trees of forests. Though not 

 altogether, in part their vast numbers appear due to the 

 fact that their fledglings escape decimation. ^I^j^^cM^^ v 

 Country boys set some value on the eggs of the 

 nettle-creeper or whitethroat because the nest is difficult 

 to find, and the eggs curiously marked. They want the 

 eggs as soon as laid, when they blow well ; and it is just 

 at this stage that the nest is most difficult to discover, 

 as the bird gives little evidence of its presence. The 

 nest is placed among the thick grasses and plants 

 that grow at the verge or down the sides of dry ditches, 

 and is frequently overshadowed by nettles. But there 

 does not appear to be any conscious effort at conceal- 

 ment. The bird spends the day searching for food in such 

 places — hence its name nettle-creeper — creeping along 

 the hedges, under brambles and thorns, and builds its 

 nest in the locality to which it is accustomed. It may 

 appear to be cunning to a superficial human observer, 

 but it is certain that the bird does not think itself 

 cunning. Men who live by fishing build their houses 

 near the sea ; those who cultivate wheat, in open plains; 

 artisans, by factories. The whitethroat frequents the 

 hedge and ditch, and there weaves its slender nest. So 

 much has been attributed to birds of which they are 



