68 THE BIRDS OF SHERWOOD FOREST. 



was not a solitary instance, for two years later, on May 

 13, 1856, another nest was taken from the same hedge, 

 near the place from which I had taken the previous one ; 

 it contained one egg, which was brought by the finder 

 to me. A third nest was taken the next day at Oiler- 

 ton ; it was placed in the side of a cattle hovel, amongst 

 the thorns with which the upright framework was inter- 

 laced, and was constructed of dry grass only, and lined, 

 as were the others, with hair. The second nest had 

 moss mixed with the grass, like the first. 



My satisfaction at the discovery, so far as I am aware, 

 of the first instance of the blackstart breeding in England 

 (for I perceive Mr. Newman does not include it as so 

 doing in his recent Zoologist List), was all the greater 

 from their being no possibility of the fact being con- 

 tested, as in addition to my seeing the bird, its eggs can- 

 not be mistaken for any others. Without possessing 

 the least polish, they nevertheless have a very peculiar 

 gloss, and are of the purest white, with an extremely 

 delicate semi-transparent appearance, quite unlike those 

 of any other British bird. 



From the circumstance of the two first-named nests 

 being placed in the same hedge, I should infer that they 

 were the work of the same pair of birds, and this pro- 

 bability is of course increased in the case of a rare species. 



It is singular that their nests were placed in situa- 

 tions so different from those authors describe as usually 

 frequented by them. Bechstein, to whom the bird was 

 well known, says : " They build in rocks and holes of 

 walls, but especially in lofty old buildings, on timbers of 

 roofs where the nest can stand alone on a beam without 

 support." No similarity to its native haunts could have 

 tempted it to remain with us, for we have nothing in 



