Birds by Land and Sea 



apart, they settle within a yard or two from each 

 other, alert, with one foot advanced, ready for 

 offence or defence. If a stand be made between two 

 old birds, they will sometimes fight to a finish, one 

 of them being left dead. 



Robins are notoriously eccentric in the choice of 

 their nesting sites. The one shown in the picture 

 built its nest this spring in a flower-pot that lay on 

 the ground in my garden. 



Reed-buntings are not common in our district ; 

 still, they are generally to be found in small numbers 

 in suitable places. Since the end of March I had 

 noticed these birds examining various sites, singly 

 or in pairs, but not until the iyth May did I flush a 

 sitting bird from a tuft of reeds on some marshy 

 ground by the Mersey. It did not rise until I 

 opened the tuft and peered in, but then flew out and 

 continued to fly to and fro with excited cries, perch- 

 ing frequently upon neighbouring tufts. As the 

 nest, containing four beautifully streaked eggs, had 

 been slung in the heart of the tuft, it would have 

 been impossible to photograph without dislodging 

 it. This loss, however, was made good to me by 

 the immediate discovery of another nest containing 

 two eggs, slung a foot from the ground in a dense 

 bed of hedge-parsley within a stone's throw from the 

 first one. Both birds rose, the male at the first sign 

 of approach, the female when I was almost upon her. 

 Their behaviour was similar to that of the first bird 

 I had found, both flying backwards and forwards in 



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