BIRDS' NESTS. 63 



His nest is not far off, no doubt concealed 

 with his usual art, under one of the projecting 

 stones that line the rocky bank of the stream, 

 perhaps behind the crystal sheet that shoots 

 from yon noisy waterfall. There, surrounded 

 by water, and enveloped in a perpetual mist, 

 the water ouzel has established his warm and 

 comfortable nest, a mass of closely inter- 

 woven moss, seven or eight inches deep, ten 

 or twelve inches in diameter, with a hollow 

 chamber in the centre, lined with a few dry 

 leaves. One might almost suppose that he 

 had turned a wren out of doors, and adapted 

 her house to his own dimensions. The eggs 

 are somewhat pointed at the smaller end, 

 rather smaller than those of the thrush, and 

 pure white. 



KINGFISHER. Alcedo Ispida. 

 PLATE I. FIG. 2. 



THE nest of the Kingfisher was the subject 

 of a pleasant fable among the ancients. Con- 



