The H.uvkeyk Ornithologist and Ooi.ogist. 



55 



The nest of this species is placed in 

 the upright fork of a small tree, or 

 where some small branches project 

 from a larger stem. It is a neat, 

 compact structure, much like that of 

 the redstarts, composed chiefly of 

 the fibrous matter that forms be- 

 tween the bark and wood of decayed 

 trees, lined witn fine hair. The set 

 of eggs, numbering from two to five, 

 ar;? of a clear white hue. It does not 

 appear to nest more than once dur- 

 ing the season. 



[FINIS.] 

 —*.. 



For The Hawkeye O. and O. 



BIRD NESTING IN THE NORTH 

 OF ENGLAND. 



BY WALTER RAISE, TORONTO, CANADA. 



Crossing the stream above Thorn- 

 ton Force, we ascend a hill; and on 

 reaching the top a splendid panorama 

 opens before us. Towards the west, 

 the river Lune wends its way for 

 nearly twenty miles, and after pass- 

 ing through the town of Lancaster, 

 empties itself into Morcambe Bay. 

 The sun is shining on the sea, which 

 is twenty miles away, although it 

 does not appear half that distance. 

 The atmosphere is very clear in this 

 region, and taking out our field glass 

 we plainly see several ships and 

 steamers sailing in the Irisii Sea. 

 Towards the north are the mountain 

 peaks of Cumberland and Westmo- 

 land. standing out boldly; to the east 

 stands Ingleborough mountain, to- 

 wards the foot of which we make our 

 way. We soon cross another stream 

 which runs over Beezley Falls and 

 down through another fairy gorge 

 called Crina Bottom, which is similar 

 to the one we have just traversed, 

 with numerous cascades, and where 

 more water ouzels, wagtails and red- 

 polls breed; but we have not time to 

 stay here, wishing to get on to the 



moors to find some plover's eggs. 



Crossing some fields we find a nest 

 of the skylark with four eggs. The 

 mate is soaring high in the air and 

 pouring out his joyous strains; it re- 

 minds us of the old German hymn: 

 '■Hark! Hark! the Lark at Heaven's 

 gate sings." He is truly a wonderful 

 songster. Immediately on leaving 

 the ground, he begins to pour out 

 his song, and soaring upward and 

 upward, until he is a mere speck in 

 the sky, when he begins to descend 

 and does not cease singing until he 

 reaches the earth again. 



The titlark is one of the commonest 

 birds of this district and we come 

 across several nests, by the birds 

 starting from in front of our feet. 

 Their nests are always on the ground, 

 made of dried grass, lined with hair: 

 and contain from four to six eggs of a 

 dusky brown, mottled over with 

 darker brown, some having black 

 hair lines around the egg. 



A wheatear flying from out of some 

 stones attracts our notice; and here 

 is a nest made of grass and rabbit's 

 fur, containing six pale blue eggs, not 

 unlike the American blue-birds. 

 This wheatear is called stonechat in 

 America, though it must not be con- 

 founded with the English stonechat 

 which is a different species. 



We now reach the moors and are 

 soon up to the knees in heather. 

 Bird life here is very numerous. 

 Lapwing plovers fly over our lieads, 

 crying '"pewit, pewit' - in a plaintive 

 note; long-billed curlews are scream- 

 ing loudly; golden plovers are 

 whistling; red grouse are crowing; 

 ring ouzel are calling; and above all 

 can be heard the welcome cry of the 

 cuckoo. High in the air, several 

 snipes are drumming. This noise is 

 caused by the bird's wings as it rap- 

 idly descends in the air. Nothing is 

 more delightful than a ramble over a 

 Yolkshire moor, where the purple 



