BIRDS' NESTS. 213 



resemblance as possible to the tree in which it 

 is placed ; and, indeed, when the nest is built 

 in the fork of a branch, it is often difficult to 

 distinguish it ; but when it is situated, as is 

 often the case, in a thick bush, or among twigs 

 of a tree on which no such lichen is growing, 

 it can be actuated by no such motive; for 

 here the variety of colouring tends rather to 

 betray than to conceal it. For my own part, 

 I cannot help thinking that the smooth ex- 

 terior, the beautifully rounded margin, and the 

 varied colouring, are so many evidences, that 

 the sole end of the bird is not concealment, 

 but that it is a natural appreciation of what is 

 beautiful in form and colouring. The interior 

 of the nest is thickly lined with dry grass, 

 wool, feathers, thistledown, and hair, and, in 

 fact, any soft material that can be met with. 

 The eggs, usually five, are of a greenish purple 

 or buff hue, variously spotted, and streaked 

 with dark purple. 



