250 SYLVIAD.E. 



frequent visits of the owners of the cottage, deterred these 

 fearless settlers. They entered through a window-frame, 

 the lattice of which had been removed ; and in a child's 

 covered cart, which, with its horse attached to it, was 

 hanging on a peg over the fire-place, and just afforded 

 space for the purpose, they built their first nest early in 

 the spring. The circumstance was observed, and soon 

 became an object of curiosity to the neighbours, many of 

 whom came to look at the nest : these inquisitive visits, 

 however, had not the effect of alarming the birds, who 

 here reared without accident their first brood. When 

 the attention of the parents was no longer needed by their 

 full-fledged offspring, they set about providing for another 

 family, and built their second nest on a shelf on the oppo- 

 site side of the room close to an old mouse-trap. Here 

 again they received visits of inquiry from bipeds of a larger 

 growth, and reared and dismissed their progeny. This 

 second brood had no sooner left them, than they again 

 betook themselves to the task of building a third nest 

 under the same sheltering roof, and for this purpose chose 

 another shelf, in a different corner of the same room ; and 

 there, in their mossy bed, on a bundle of papers, on the 

 21st of June, were four half-fledged nestlings, which the 

 hen was feeding while a party was watching the proceed- 

 ing, the cock bird contenting himself with looking on 

 from the outside. There was no doubt that the same 

 pair of birds belonged to each successive nest, as the loss 

 of her tail rendered the hen conspicuous. 



Mr. Black wall of Manchester relates that "a pair of these 

 birds built their nest in a small saw-pit. Soon after the 

 female had begun to sit, the sawing of timber was com- 

 menced at this pit ; and though the persons employed 

 continued their noisy occupation close to the nest every 



