Nest of the Grey-winged Ouzel 



nursery being placed on the ground at the root 

 of a tree, or on the ledge of a rock. Many 

 ouzels' nests are placed on the stumps of pollard 

 trees, and in such cases the shoots which grow 

 out of the stump often serve to hide the nest 

 from view. The nests built by grey-winged 

 ouzels vary considerably in structure. The 

 commonest form is that of a massive cup, 

 composed exteriorly of moss and lined with dry 

 grass, a layer of mud being inserted between 

 the moss and the grass lining. This mud 

 layer does not invariably occur. 



The cock ouzel remained for fully five 

 minutes with one eye on me, and then flew off. 

 I seized the opportunity to approach nearer 

 the nest, and took up a position on the hillside 

 level with it, at a distance of about 14 feet. 



In a few minutes the hen bird appeared. 

 Her prevailing hue is reddish brown, while the 

 cock is black all over, save for some large 

 patches of dark grey on the wings. In each 

 sex the bill and legs are reddish yellow, the bill 

 being the more brightly coloured. The hen 

 caught sight of me and beat a hurried retreat, 

 without approaching the nest. 



The young ouzels kept very still ; occasion- 

 ally one of them would half raise its head. 



