THE REDBREAST. 199 



made tlicir second nest on a shelf opposite the 

 foTiiler one, and close by a mouse-trap ^ and here 

 the nestlings throve, till in due time they too 

 went away to wood or garden. Choosing another 

 shelf, in a different corner of the room, the old 

 birds made a third n^st ; and there in this moss- 

 covered dwelling, placed on a bundle of papers, 

 the four nestlings might be seen, on Midsummer- 

 day, in their half-fledged state, fed by the mother 

 bird, and watched on the outside by her mate, 

 while several persons were looking on. It was 

 well known tliat all the nests w^ere built by the 

 same robins, as the hen-bird was rendered very 

 conspicuous by the loss of her tail feathers. 



The Rev. W. T. Bree relates a singular place 

 chosen for nidification. " A few years ago," says 

 this naturalist, " a pair of robins took up their 

 abode in the parish church of Hampton in Arden, 

 Warwickshire, and for two years in succession 

 affixed their nest to the church Bible, as it lay on 

 tlie reading-desk. The worthy vicar would on no 

 account have the bird disturbed ; and accordingly 

 introduced into the church another Bible, from 

 which to read the lessons. A question has been 

 facetiously asked, whether these birds were not 



