70 BRITISH BIRDS' EGGS. 



shire, and Lincolnshire, are spoken of as the chief retreats 

 of this bird. In Scotland it is unknown; and only one 

 specimen is recorded from Ireland. The nest, generally 

 placed in a tuft of coarse grass or rushes near the ground, 

 is composed externally of the dead leaves of the reed, and 

 sedge, with grass, and with the top of the reed for lining ; 

 or at other times of dried bents, the finer ones forming the 

 lining. The eggs, usually from four to six in number, are 

 white or pale-pink, sparingly marked with pale-red lines or 

 scratches, and rather smaller than those of the Great Tit- 

 mouse. 



THE ALPINE ACCENTOR. Accentor Alpinus. It is only 

 as a wanderer that this bird occasionally visits Britain. 

 The Alps of Middle Europe are its natural and most fre- 

 quented station. It breeds in the clefts of the rocks, at great 

 elevations ; the nest is made of moss and fine grass, lined 

 with wool and hair. The eggs, four or five in number, are of 

 a greenish-blue colour, without markings ; more intense in 

 their colour and larger than those of the Hedge Accentor. 



THE HEDGE ACCENTOR. Accentor modularis. This is 

 no other than our unobtrusive, gentle, and familiar Hedge 

 Sparrow, which remains with us all the year through, close 

 to our habitations, and from some spray warbles its short 



