150 FAMILIAR WILD BIRDS. 



one occasion finding- one in the stump of a rotten tree 

 which had broken off about eleven feet from the ground ; 

 they are also found in pollard willows. The nest is chiefly 

 composed of moss, small fine grass, fibrous roots, wool, 

 horse and cow-hair. The eggs number from four to six, 

 and are of a grey colour, speckled with light umber-brown. 



THE HERON. 



THE Heron lays four or five eggs of a pale blue, with a 

 tinge of green. Her nest is composed of a very liberal 

 collection of sticks, and is lined in the interior with wool, 

 and occasionally rags. It is situated on the tops of high 

 trees. Like the Rooks, Herons build in societies, which 

 are called heronries. 



THE WOODCOCK. 



THE Woodcock lays four eggs of a yellow-white colour, 

 blotched with pale chestnut-brown. Her nest is generally 

 found amongst the underwood at the foot of a tree, where 

 she does not appear to try to avoid its being seen, but 

 scratches a slight hollow, lining it with dead leaves and 

 the withered fronds of the bracken. She is not an habitual 

 nester in this country, although her nest is occasionally 

 found, but it is exceptional, and I think accidental. Like 

 the Partridge, Grouse, &c., the young leave the nest as 

 soon as hatched, and are most carefully looked after by the 

 parent bird. 



