WILLOW WAEBLEE. 121 



built of moss, leaves, or fern, and grass, a hollow being left 

 in the side for the ingress and egress of the bird. It is 

 lined with feathers, and with hair, the former being the 

 innermost, and is pretty firmly compacted. It is placed on 

 the ground, generally in woods, or among the long grass, 

 brushwood, or weeds on the bank of some wooded hedge by 

 the outside of a wood, or the edge of a pathway or open 

 place in such. One has been met with in the ivy on a 

 wall, and another in a field, several yards from the fence. 

 The nest is carefully concealed. 



The eggs, of a rotund form, but varying much in size 

 and marks, are from four to six or seven in number, and 

 mostly light pinkish white, with numerous small specks of 

 pale rusty red; some are less thoroughly spotted, and some 

 most marked at the larger end, while others are only sparingly 

 dotted; they are a little polished: pure white ones have been 

 met with. The female bird sits very close upon them, and 

 the male feeds her on the nest, she chattering to him the 

 while, and he to her, and sometimes takes her place in the 

 course of the day, while she searches for food. 



The young are hatched the end of May or beginning of 

 June, and are fledged about the middle or end of that month, 

 or the beginning of July. A second brood, if reared, is 

 abroad by the beginning of August. 



Male; weight, about two drachms and three quarters; 

 length, five inches; bill, dusky brown; the under mandible 

 pale yellowish brown at the base, its edges dusky orange; 

 those of the upper one paler: iris, dusky brown; over it is 

 a light-coloured yellow streak, fading off backwards into 

 white; under the eye is also an obscure yellow streak: the 

 yellow colours fade with the advance of summer. Head on 

 the sides, pale olive colour, or greenish grey, with a tinge 

 of yellow; on the crown, neck on the back, and nape, dull 

 olive green; the neck on the sides is pale olivaceous, or 

 greenish grey, tinged with yellow; chin and throat, greyish 

 white, streaked with yellow; the latter fades with the advance 

 of summer; breast, silvery white, with a strong tinge of 

 yellow, which fades towards the autumn; below, the latter 

 is nearly white, but tinged with yellow; back, dull pale 

 olive green, fading into greyish brown later in the summer. 



The wings, which expand to the width of seven inches and 

 three quarters, have the first quill feather very short, being 

 only three quarters of an inch long, the second slightly longer 



