40 BIRDS' NESTS. 



in bushes ten or twelve feet from the ground, 

 of small twigs, moss, and wool. Their eggs 

 were white, or nearly so, with reddish-purple 

 spots about the larger end. The cock-bird 

 used to perch during great part of the day, 

 especially when it was very warm, on a branch 

 of a tree hard by, repeating over and over one 

 long note, that sounded more like a croak than 

 a chirp. No one thought it a pleasant sound, 

 except, I suppose, Mrs. Greenfinch, who being 

 obliged to stay at home all day long, thought 

 any note musical which told her that her hus- 

 band was keeping watch not far off. 



In a little wood adjoining the garden was 

 a fine old oak-tree, all the lower part of \vhich 

 was thickly clothed with ivy. Among the 

 steins of this, two wrens had built their 

 comfortable nest. The entrance was made of 

 moss, twigs, and dry leaves, and shaped not 

 like a cup, as many other nests are, but round 

 like a ball, with a small hole in front. So 

 cleverly was the nest hid, however, that you 



