78 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



builds in close proximity to the owl and jackdaw, neither of the 

 three appearing to be disturbed by the presence of the others. 

 In forest lands the Starling lays its eggs in old trees ; and I have 

 frequently looked into a little hole high on the trunk, and seen 

 the eggs lying far below, out of the reach of any foe except the 

 rat, the weasel, and the British schoolboy, with his fertile inven- 

 tion and ready limbs. Starlings which choose such situations are 

 strangely indifferent to observation, and are so noisy in all their 

 conversation, that they may be heard at a distance of several 

 hundred yards. 



One or two other British birds must be mentioned, because 

 they lay their eggs in excavations either natural or artificial. 

 There is the elegant little Tree Ceeeper {Certhia familiaris), so 

 well known for its delicate form, its slender and slightly-curved 

 beak, and the great agility with which it traverses tlie trunks of 

 trees. The nest of this bird is mostly placed in the hollow of 

 some decaying tree, and is of rather more ambitious a character 

 than is generally found with birds which lay their eggs in similar 

 situations, being formed of moss, grass, and other soft vegetable 

 substances, and lined with downy feathers. There are about 

 seven or eight eggs, which are small and of a light grey, varie- 

 gated with brownish dots. 



The short-bodied, stout-beaked, strong-limbed Nuthatch 

 (Sitta EuropcBo) is another example of the semi-burro wers, inas- 

 much as it always chooses the hollow of a decaying tree for its 

 nursery. The general habits of this curious little bird are very 

 well known, and as they bear but very slightly on the prin- 

 ciple of nesting, there is no need to mention them in this 

 place. 



The cavity which the bird selects is usually one Avhich has 

 but a very small entrance ; and it is said that when the orifice 

 is too large, the mother bird lessens it by kneading clay into the 

 sides. It has already been mentioned that the wrynerk^defends 

 its nest by the simulation of offensive powers, though it is, in 

 tnith, a veiy harmless bird, without the means to work an injurj 

 to an enemy. The Nuthatch defends its home with equal suc- 

 cess, but not by the same deception ; for whenever an enemy 

 approaches toe closely to the nest, out dashes the bird in a srate 



