BIRDS' NESTS. 97 



chimneys, unused shafts of mines, or old wells ; 

 sometimes under the roof of a barn or open 

 shed, between the rafters and the thatch or 

 tiles which form the covering. Yarrell speaks 

 of a nest made by a pair of swallows in the 

 half-open drawer of a small deal table in an 

 unoccupied garret, to which access was ob- 

 tained by a broken pane of glass. Pennant 

 mentions an instance in which a pair of 

 swallows attached their nest to the body and 

 wing of an owl nailed against a barn. A yet 

 more singular instance is recorded of a pair 

 which built their nest in the paddle-wheel of 

 a steamer, and reared their young, although 

 the vessel was daily put in motion. The eggs, 

 which are generally from four to six in num- 

 ber, are three quarters of an inch long, white, 

 speckled with ash-colour and brownish red. 



NUTHATCH. Sitta Europoea. 



PLATE II. FIG. 3. 



A DESCRIPTION of the nest and eggs of this 

 interesting bird will be found at p. 12. 



H 



