352 Banffshire Fauna. [APPENDIX. 
and of the narrowness of the entrance. The growth of the tree 
caused the hole to get less and less every year, and it has been 
for several years so completely closed that the point of the finest 
needle can not be inserted. The tree, a sturdy beech, has the 
two nests and eggs in its very core. It is thus evident how easily 
these “ extraordinary occurrences”? may be accounted for. 
Trociopytes Evropavs [ Wren]. 
The dear little wren, the lion of small birds, with his short, jerking 
little tail, I have known and admired from childhood. Who that 
has trod the woods in spring or summer has not heard a very 
loud though by no means inharmonious song, proceeding from 
some bush or bank, and not admired it. And who is there, if he 
did not know the bird, that would not be surprised beyond meas- 
ure at so small a creature being able to make such a loud noise? 
Of all the deserted nests I have ever met with, those of the wren 
would, I am sure, count twenty per cent. over any other species. 
I am unable to account for this, but perhaps it arises from their 
building several before they get one to please them. I once 
found one of their nests in an old tin kettle, which had become 
fixed among the branches of a holly. The wren, like other birds, 
does not sing so well in confinement. When in their native 
haunts, there is a pathos in their voice, and a music in their melo- 
dy, which makes the heart thrill with pleasure. 
Urura Epops [Hoopoe]. 
Three or four of these pretty birds have occurred here: one was 
taken at Duff House, in 1832, by a Mr. Mackay, in such a state 
of exhaustion as to allow itself to be captured by hand; another 
was seen by myself, a few years back, in the same place; and 
two others are said to have been since obtained in other parts of 
the county. 
CucuLvs canorvs [ Cuckoo]. : 
This is another sweet and darling gem. Well do I remember, when 
only a little fellow, rummaging about the Den of Rubislaw, near 
Aberdeen, how surprised I was on hearing the sound of “ Cuckoo, 
cuckoo,” from a small plantation close by, and how overjoyed I 
was when I obtained a sight of the bird; and now that I am old, 
the sweet voice of the harbinger of sunny days still cheers me. 
They are not very-numerous with us along the sea-coastg but are 
very frequent in the higher districts. They generally appear 
about the end of April. It is said that they can retain their eggs 
for a number of days after they are ready for extrusion. I will 
relate, without comment, a circumstance of this sort which came 
