54 WILD NATURE IN STRATHEARN. 



and grass, warmly lined with soft feathers, and 

 so fitted into the moss on the bank as almost 

 to elude detection. The shape of the nest is 

 spherical, the top being carefully covered, and 

 only a small opening left at the side, just suffi- 

 cient to allow two fingers to be inserted. The 

 eggs, often up to ten or a dozen, but more 

 often seven or eight, almost fill the nest, which 

 is used for a retreat from the inclement weather 

 by the young wrens some time after they are 

 " flown." 



" How artfully contrived to favour warmth ! 

 Here read the reason of the vaulted roof; 

 How Providence compensates every kind, 

 The enormous disproportion that subsists 

 Between the mother and the numerous brood 

 Which her small bulk must quicken into life." 



Another remarkable nest is that of the Long- 

 Tailed Tit, which is domed like that of the 

 Wren, and covered over the outside with lichen, 

 thus resembling the nest of the Chaffinch. The 

 difference between the nests of the Missel and 

 Song Thrush is that the former is lined with 



