4694 THE ZooLOGIST—NOVEMBER, 1875. 
Scarcely had I closed the door of the cage before they were inspecting and 
trying, with loud demonstrations of joy, the several plants; and so suddenly 
were their domestic arrangements made that they commenced laying before 
I had time to supply them with nesting materials. The consequence was 
that the eggs, four in number, were laid on the bare wire, with the exception 
of a few blades of grass, which the birds had managed to pluck from the 
growing plants. The eggs, which were extremely delicate and fragile, were 
broken by their own weight against the wire ; and the birds forsook the nest, 
and built another on the floor of the cage amongst some hay and grass I had 
subsequently thrown in. I then procured a quantity of the tops of the 
common reed, about eighteen inches in length, and dropped them into the 
cage, in an upright position, amongst the growing grass, at the same time 
introducing some strips of bass matting, cut into lengths of from six to 
twelve inches; also some meadow pipits’ nests and some of the seed-down 
of the common sallow. The nest at the bottom of the cage was then 
deserted, and another one built in the centre of a tuft of grass. This was 
a deep cup-shaped, compact edifice, the exterior of which was composed of 
matting, lined with the fine grass from the pipits’ nest, with here and there 
a piece of sallow-down. After laying twelve eggs they began to sit, but at 
the end of eight or ten days this nest was deserted and a new one com- 
menced, the previous nest being pulled to pieces, and the materials used in 
the construction of the new one. From first to last six nests were formed, 
containing respectively four, seventeen, twelve, eight, four, and four eggs ; 
total, forty-nine eggs laid between the 30th of May and the 2nd of August. 
Two eggs were frequently laid the same morning; I therefore presume that 
the nests were common to both hens. The cock was the principal architect, 
and he also took his turn on the eggs during the day. The nests were so 
well concealed that the only way I could see into them was by looking into 
them from the roof of the cage. Whether the birds perceived this, or 
whether it is their natural habit to cover up their eggs, I don’t know, but 
on leaving the nest after laying, the eggs were invariably concealed by the 
lining of the nest being pulled over them. As the birds do not appear to 
have suffered any ill effects from their prolific laying, I hope to be able to 
rear young ones next spring, and should be glad if any of your readers 
would kindly give me any hints as to the proper food and treatment that 
would be likely to conduce to success. I forgot to mention that, on clearing 
away the grass in the autumn, I found so many fragments of egg-shells as 
would induce me to believe that probably the number of eggs laid in reality 
exceeded fifty—J. Young; 5, Denbigh Road, Notting Hill. (From the 
‘Field’ of October 9th.) 
Tawny Pipit at Brighton.—A young male tawny pipit (Anthus rufescens) 
was caught in a pair of clap-nets by a birdcatcher at the east end of 
Brighton, and was purchased by Mr. Swaysland.—G. Swaysland, jun. 
