72 THE BRITISH NATURE BOOK 



as is also its beautiful plumage. It is easily identified by the yellow head, neck, 

 and under parts, the chestnut rump, and the white feathers in the tail visible 

 when flying. No other British bird except the Yellow Wagtail shows so much 

 yellow, and there is no likelihood of mistaking one for the other. The females 

 and young are much duller, as is so generally the case. 



The eggs, slightly smaller than those of the Corn Bunting, are of a purplish 

 white, with deep brown marking and " scribbles " hence the country name 

 " SCRIBBLING or WRITING LARK." The nest is generally in a hedge bank or 

 tuft, and is made of grasses, roots, etc., lined with horsehair. 



Chaffinch. Resident and widely distributed. Can be recognized by its 

 smart, upright bearing, its jerky, quick motion on the ground, the large amount 

 of white on the wings, and its sharp call-note " Pink-pink." The cock has 

 slate-blue crown and nape, chocolate back, red throat and breast. Hen is 

 duller, with breast grey-brown. The nest, built in hedges, bushes, and trees, 

 is one of the most beautiful and symmetrical of British birds' nests; built of 

 moss, ornamented with lichens, lined with hair and feathers. Once seen, its 

 beautiful character renders it unmistakable. The eggs (four to six), greenish 

 or bluish white, spotted and streaked with dark brown. 



Chiffchaff. A summer migrant, scarce in Scotland, a harbinger of spring, 

 though a few spend the winter with us. It is identified by its note, " Chaff- 

 chaff " repeated eight or ten times, and generally from a tall tree. The only 

 bird which has a note at all resembling it is the Great Tit with its spring call ; 

 the latter, however, is heard much earlier, in January or February, and is 

 quicker and shriller. 



The bird is very small (4! inches), and much like the Willow Wren, from which 

 it is distinguished by the dark legs and feet, and generally duller plumage 

 dull olive-green above, wings and tail brown, under parts dingy yellowish white, 

 eyebrow dull greyish white. The nest, often on the ground, or in some mixed 

 tangle of brambles and herbage, is a domed structure, made usually of dead 

 leaves, grass and moss, lined with feathers. The eggs are white, spotted with 

 light red generally six in number. 



Creeper, Tree-. This little bird is distinguished by its habit of creeping up 

 and round the trunks of trees like a mouse, seeking insects in the crevices of 

 the bark. It appears usually to ascend spirally ; and if it notices its observer, 

 will immediately run round the opposite side of the tree. It possesses a foot 

 large in proportion to its size, with very mobile claws, a long slender curved 

 beak, twelve specially stiffened and curved feathers in the tail all obvious 

 adaptations for its special habit of tree climbing. Its usual note is " Zib " ; 

 but it possesses a little song, which few naturalists hear, not unlike the Hedge 

 Sparrow's " Ticka-tee-tee-tee-tee-tee-ticka-ticka." The upper parts are 

 chiefly brown ; a silvery white throat, breast, and under parts. 



Its nest, of twigs, moss, roots, etc., lined with wool or down, is usually behind 

 the loose bark of a tree, or in some crevice in a wall or wooden building. The 

 eggs, five or six in number, are white, with red spots, and may be found in May. 



