THE WEEN. 333 



are generally interwoven a number of sharp thorns, so that the 

 nest is nearly as unpleasant to the bare hand as a thistle. 

 Moreover, the bird has a way of gathering the thorns round the 

 entrance, so that the hand cannot be inserted into the nest 

 without danger of many wounds. Indeed, the nest is so large, 

 and the eggs lie so far from the entrance, that to extract them is 

 generally a task that cannot be accomplished without the aid of 

 a knife. 



Besides the thorny defence, the nest is mostly strengthened 

 by its very position, being generally fixed in the furcation of 

 several stout boughs, so that it can only be approached in certain 

 parts. Moreover, the great height at which the Magpie loves to 

 build the nest renders the operation of robbing it so dangerous, 

 that many a nest escapes because no one has nerve enough to 

 risk the ascent. 



The position of the nest, too, conceals its true form so well, 

 that a very practised eye is needed to distinguish it from an 

 ordinary swelling of the bough, or from the heaps of dislodged 

 twigs which are so often found in the forked branches of trees. 

 Deserted nests are very common, and during my bird's-nesting 

 days, I have frequently been disappointed to find that after all 

 the trouble of ascending a lofty tree, the nest was empty, and 

 had clearly been deserted for a year or two. Sometimes the nest 

 is occupied by other creatures, and in some parts of the country, 

 the pine marten has been known to take possession of a deserted 

 Magpie's nest, and to lie therein quite unsuspected until driven 

 out by some accident Although a lofty tree is mostly chosen 

 by the Magpie, such is not invariably the case, for now and then 

 a low tree, or even a bush, is selected. In any case, however, the 

 branches are sure to be thickly set, so that the nest may be firmly 

 held among the boughs. 



Anotheb of our feathered dome-builders is the common Ween 

 {Troglodytes vulgaris). The form and colouring of this bird are 

 too well known to need description, and we shall therefore pass 

 at once to its mode of nesting. 



The Wren is rather peculiar in its method of constructing the 

 nest, for though it can build a dome when there is need for it, 

 and generally does so, it does not always choose to take so much 

 trouble, but contents itself with an open nest arched over by a 



