82 ANNALS OF BIRD LIFE. 



7. Basket-Makers. By far the greatest number 

 of nest-building birds in the British Islands come 

 under the present category. Among the basket- 

 makers must be included the Warblers, the Crows, 

 the birds of prey, the Pigeons, the Herons, and! 

 the Cormorants. All these birds follow the prin- 

 ciple of basket-making in constructing their nest, 

 winding the sticks, twigs, and grass-stems in and 

 out, across and across, very similar to the withes 

 of a basket. Take, for instance, the delicate 

 flimsy nest of the Whitethroat. It is made prin- 

 cipally of round, dry grass-stalks, each wound in 

 and out with great skill and regularity, the whole- 

 structure being finished off with a lining of horse- 

 hair. The Blackcap and the Garden Warbler are 

 other instances. The Crows, several of the birds 

 of prey, as for instance the Sparrowhawk, and the 

 Herons, all make large basket-like nests of sticks, 

 so strongly put together that you may stand upon 

 them in perfect safety. One of the best instances 

 of this peculiar class of bird architecture is the 

 wonderful abode of the Magpie. Every one knows 

 the bulky nest of this pretty bird, roofed over 

 with a canopy of basket-work which almost defies 

 destruction. I have a vivid remembrance of this, 

 for when a boy it was an agreement between the 

 keeper and myself that I had to pull out all the 

 nest from the tree as a consideration for the privi- 

 lege of being allowed to climb to the nest and 

 take possession of the contents ! Very often this, 

 was no joke, for I have seen Magpies' nests which. 



