PERCHING BIRDS. 53 



based upon the simple fact, that the nest I mentioned 

 above as having been found in the fork of an oak, had 

 no clay or mud whatever in its structure ; for having 

 pulled it to pieces I found it was made of birch twigs, 

 with moss worked into the interstices, and lined with a 

 quantity of dry grass ; the outside was neatly ornamented 

 with bits of lichen like that on the boughs on which it 

 rested, withered oak leaves being here and there inserted 

 and left to hang down and add to the general conceal- 

 ment. In other nests I have found clay used, but it is 

 evident that their method of construction is variable. 



In 1853 a nest came under my notice which, from the 

 singularity of its lining material, proves what I have 

 said, that the missel thrush does not adhere to one un- 

 varying rule in its constructive plans. On the 5th of 

 May in that year one of the labourers in the pleasure 

 grounds at Thoresby Park, observing something white 

 hanging from the bough of a cedar which stands in the 

 grounds near the entrance from the courtyard, climbed 

 up the tree, and at the height of about thirty feet from 

 the ground discovered the nest of one of these birds, 

 daintily lined with a piece of lace, and a lace cap and 

 collar. These articles had been missed, and nothing 

 could be learnt respecting them until the white string of 

 the cap, dangling in the wind, led to the discovery of 

 the lost treasures. They were carefully laid round the 

 interior of the nest, and on the unwonted lining, which 

 was not in the least soiled, were deposited two eggs. 

 The drying ground is situated on the outskirts of the 

 pleasure grounds, about forty or fifty yards from the 

 tree, and from this spot had the articles been purloined 

 by the mysterious thief. 



The missel thrash is an early singer, and though it 



