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Mr. Reginald Phieeipps,



the whole garden is thrown open to the birds in the birdroom, so

the Bishops had to defend their eggs from an army of idle

knaves who, with one interesting exception, having nothing in

hand themselves, thought it fine fun to attempt to raid the nest.


Who built the nest I do not know ; I have never seen the

male with nesting material in his beak, but have occasionally

noticed the female carrying hay ; probably they both worked

together, the one inside the other out. The female alone sat on

the eggs; I doubt if the male ever once entered the nest.


All through the day the male watched over the sitting bird,

at first from a high branch several yards away, but later at the

nest itself, madly flapping his wings and loudly chirping in vain

endeavours to frighten away his numerous foes, and many a

good fight he fought in defence of hearth and home ; it was

uphill work however, and probably he would have been killed

on more than one occasion had I not rushed to the rescue, for,

after all, he was but a poor fighter. Towards evening he would

go to roost in a thick privet clump opposite the nest; but when I

came round to drive the birds into the birdroom for the night he

would accompany them, and never offered to return to the garden.

The female at first but not afterwards, from habit, would also go

into the birdroom along with the crowd, but recollecting herself

would quickly return to the nest, and was thus left all alone

throughout the long miserable November nights—alone with

the cats and the (shut up) Burrowing Owls. For a few evenings

she keenly felt her lonely position and would return to the bird-

room ; but her maternal instincts would quickly re-assert them¬

selves and she would hurry back to her post.


On the 13th, it had been bitterly cold and foggy during the

morning and preceding night, and another frosty night was

coming on. All the birds had been put to bed some time before

when I noticed the female Bishop pleading for re-admission to

the birdroom. It was so late I concluded she had really given in

at last, so, letting her in but not quite closing the window, I

proceeded to the nest for the purpose of saving the eggs and

taking measurements, as the birds could come out at daybreak,

and damage might be done in the morning before I came down.

Without injuring the nest, I examined it so far as the dim light



