THE THRUSH. 25 



nicely made, and well fitted to protect the little 

 ones from the rain or cold. The outside is com- 

 posed of dried p-ass, or of some of those grey lichens 

 which hantr about our old trees; and these are 

 intermixed with dried grasses and green moss. 

 Then comes a compact layer of mud, which is 

 again lined with line grasses. But though these 

 are the usual materials of the nest, the storm-cock 

 will, at times, help itself to anything likely to 

 serve its purj30sc as well. Thus a lady in Ire- 

 land is said, by ^Ir. Thompson, to have lost a cap 

 which was laid out to dry upon the spring grass. 

 All search for the lost head-dress was unavailing, 

 till autumn came and stript away the leaves from 

 the trees, and something white was seen lying 

 among the boughs — one glance at the object told 

 the tale, and the owner soon saw the shreds of her 

 lace veiy ingeniously wrought in among the plants, 

 which had formed the home whence the young and 

 old missel-tlirushes had long since departed. 



Five eggs of a greyish green tint, speckled over 

 with chocolate-coloured spots, are usually deposited 

 in the nest. This is placed in the angle of the 

 bough of the forest or orchard tree, and is often 

 left so exposed to view, as that any passer-by 



