190 FRESH FIELDS 



or nearly all, exceeding the number laid by corre- 

 sponding species in this country. The highest 

 number of eggs of the majority of our birds is 

 five; some of the wrens and creepers and titmice 

 produce six, or even more; but as a rule one sees 

 only three or four eggs in the nests of our common 

 birds. Our quail seems to produce more eggs than 

 the European species, and our swift more. 



Then this superabundance of eggs is protected by 

 such warm and compact nests. The nest of the 

 willow warbler, to which I have referred, is a kind 

 of thatched cottage upholstered with feathers. It 

 is placed upon the ground, and is dome-shaped, like 

 that of our meadow mouse, the entrance being on 

 the side. The chaffinch, the most abundant and 

 universal of the British birds, builds a nest in the 

 white thorn that is a marvel of compactness and 

 neatness. It is made mainly of fine moss and 

 wool. The nest of Jenny Wren, with its dozen 

 or more of eggs, is too perfect for art, and too 

 cunning for nature. Those I saw were placed amid 

 the roots of trees on a steep bank by the roadside. 

 You behold a mass of fine green moss set in an 

 irregular framework of roots, with a round hole in 

 the middle of it. As far in as your finger can 

 reach, it is exquisitely soft and delicately modeled. 

 When removed from its place, it is a large mass of 

 moss with the nest at the heart of it. 



Then add to these things the comparative immu- 

 nity from the many dangers that beset the nests of 

 our birds, — dangers from squirrels, snakes, crows. 



