528 HOMES wrrHOUT hands. 



Although the beautifully-spotted eggs are plentiful in the 

 collection of every nest-hunting schoolboy, they do not come 

 into his little museum for some time. The eggs of the black- 

 bird, thrush, and hedge-warbler are generally the first to be 

 found, because the nests in •which they are contained are so con- 

 spicuous. But the nest of the Chaffinch is never easily seen, 

 and its discovery requires a special training of the eye. 



An experienced nest-hunter will always detect it, and it is 

 amusing to watch the bewildered expression of a novice to whom 

 a Chafifinch-nest is pointed out, and who cannot see it in spite of 

 all the indications of his instructor. The bird likes to find the 

 fork of a tree or bush, where several branches are thrown out 

 from one spot, and so as to form a kind of cup in which the nest 

 can lie. Tall hawthorns, or even sloe or crab-trees, especially if 

 they grow in thick hedges, are favourite trees with the Chaffinch, 

 and a luxuriant and untrimmed hedgerow is always prolific in 

 Chafifinch-nests. 



Within the forked branches, the bird constructs its nest, and 

 does so in rather a singular manner. The chief material is wool, 

 which is matted together so as to form a kind of loose felt, and 

 with this felt are woven delicate mosses, spider-webs, cottony 

 down, and lichens. The last-mentioned materials are stuck 

 most ingeniously upon the outside of the nest, and have the 

 effect of making it look exactly like a natural excrescence from 

 the tree in which it is placed. 



This pretty nest is generally deep in proportion to its width, 

 and is lined with hairs, arranged in a most methodical manner, 

 so as to form a cup for the eggs. The hair of the cow is much 

 used by the Chaffinch, which may be seen collecting its stock of 

 hairs from the fields wherein cows are pastured, not plucking 

 them directly from the body of the animal, but searching for 

 them in the crevices of the trees and posts against which the 

 cattle are accustomed to rub themselves. Mostly, the bird can 

 only procure single hairs ; but when it is fortunate enough to 

 find a tuft or bunch of hairs, it pulls them out, and works them 

 separately into the nest, so as to ensure the needful uniformity. 

 The hair of the horse is largely used by the Chaffinch, as is the 

 fur of several other animals ; but in the generality of nests the 

 hairs of the cow predominate. 



The texture of the nest is very strong, and, owing to the 



