AMONGST THE HEATHER AND GORSE. 31 



in its Devonshire haunts some time during the 

 latter half of April, and leaving them again in 

 September. An apparent social tendency is sug- 

 gested by this species during the breeding season, 

 and numbers of nests are often made at no great 

 distance from each other, but we do not believe the 

 bird is a social one in the strict meaning of the 

 term. The Grasshopper Warbler is an adept at 

 concealing its nest ; a very fortunate circumstance 

 in some localities where almost every school-boy 

 is an inveterate bird's-nester. When the nest is 

 made among furze, hidden away amidst the 

 tangled grass and gorse, in cover so dense that 

 often a tunnel or " run " is formed to approach it, 

 discovery is excessively difficult Made of dry 

 grass and bits of moss, lined with finer stems, it is 

 rather deep and compact, and the five or six 

 eggs may be readily distinguished by their pinkish 

 appearance, thickly dusted with spots of reddish 

 brown and grey. There is just one other species 

 we may allude to ere leaving the furze, and that is 

 the Stock Dove. This species is evidently increas- 

 ing in numbers, and extending its range in many 

 parts of the county. Another very interesting 

 fact is the marked partiality of this species for 



