188 BIRDS' NESTS. 



object the bird attains by building a very sub- 

 stantial nest, laying first a good foundation of 

 small sticks and roots ; this outer fence it then 

 plasters with a thick layer of mud, and lines 

 the whole with dry grass. The eggs are four 

 or five, of a dull bluish green, copiously 

 speckled with reddish brown. The number 

 and size of the spots vary exceedingly in dif- 

 ferent specimens ; sometimes they are minute, 

 and so close together, that the ground is 

 almost concealed ; in other examples, the spots 

 are larger, and the ground of a brighter hue. 

 Some specimens closely resemble the egg of 

 the jay, from which, however, they may be 

 distinguished by. their redder hue, and some- 

 what smaller size. The nest and eggs of the 

 Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus), are very like 

 those of the blackbird, but the former is most 

 usually built upon a ledge of rock, sometimes 

 on banks by the sides of streams, or among 

 heath, or occasionally at the base of a stump 

 or bush. 



