BLACKBIRD AND ROBIN 87 



Equally abundant, and somewhat similar 

 in appearance, is the nest of the Blackbird or 

 Merle ( Turdus merula), one of our most charm- 

 ing songsters, though a greedy fruit-eater. 

 It is placed in a thick bush, and is composed 

 of fibres and grass, coated with mud and lined 

 with grass, and the eggs, four to six in 

 number, are light blue, thickly freckled with 

 reddish-brown (Plate VI., Fig. 2). They are 

 exceedingly variable. It must not be forgotten 

 that although the cock blackbird is of a deep 

 black, the hen is of a sooty brown shade with 

 a light and freckled breast. 



The darling of children and poets, the 

 Robin Redbreast (Erithacus rubecula), is in 

 truth a fierce little bird, and the cocks fight 

 savagely. It places its nest on the ground 

 under a hedge, or in a mossy bank a neat 

 structure of grass and leaves, lined with hair. 

 It lays five or six yellowish-grey eggs, spotted 

 with pale reddish-brown (Plate VI. , Fig. 3). 



Most wanderers in rural parts have noticed 

 the Whinchat (Pratincola nibetra), with its 

 peculiar chattering call. It places its nest on 

 the ground beneath a whin-bush, using dry 

 grass lined with moss or wool. It lays five or 



