BIRDS' NESTS. 133 



SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. Muscicapa grisola. 



PLATE VII. FIG. 2. 



IN the spring of 1853 a pair of these birds 

 built their nest in the fork of an apricot-tree, 

 which was trained against a barn in my 

 garden. Five eggs were laid, and in due 

 season hatched. The parent birds were often 

 observed supplying the young ones with food ; 

 and at last, when they disappeared I supposed 

 that their labours were ended. One day, 

 however, as I was at work in another part of 

 the garden, a pair of flycatchers flew about 

 uneasily near the place where I was standing, 

 now perching on the branches of a pear-tree, 

 then on the top of a wall, and evincing that 

 anxiety by which birds frequently betray the 

 vicinity of their nest. I searched every tree 

 and niche where I thought it possible that a 

 flycatcher could build its nest, but all in vain. 

 The next day, and the next, the same incident 

 occurred, and so thoroughly was I convinced 

 that there must be a nest somewhere near me, 



