BIRDS' NESTS. 129 



severe, or the bird be so deeply engaged in an 

 angry squabble with some winged intruders 

 on his repast for to tell the truth, he is 

 neither good-tempered nor sociable he allows 

 no one to approach him. As the breeding 

 season, however, draws near, he alters his 

 very nature. No longer confining himself to 

 the woods and wilds, he draws near our dwell- 

 ings, pitches his tent in an orchard or shrub- 

 bery, and there, very early in the season, 

 builds in the fork of an apple or some other 

 such tree, a substantial nest of hay, stems, 

 lichens, and mud, lined with dry grass. He 

 seems indeed now to court observation as much 

 as he formerly shunned it ; for no nest perhaps 

 is more open to detection. The eggs, usually 

 five, are of a light brown, reddish or greenish 

 hue, blotched or speckled with light red. 



BUTCHER BIRD. Lanius Cotturio. 



PLATE VII. FIG. 3. 



IN some districts, nests of this bird are 

 tolerably common, but in other parts, especi- 



K 



