CURIOUS EXPERIENCES IN BIRDS' NESTING. 375 



and found it contained ten Blue Tit's eggs and one Nuthatch's 

 egg. Some little time afterwards I received six more Nuthatch's 



Go 



eggs from the same hole. The birds had finished laying in spite 

 of the enlarged hole, which they had plastered up with mud. 



In 1893 I found that a Stock Dove had taken possession of 

 and laid one egg in a hole in a tree which had frequently been 

 used as a nesting place by a Barn Owl. About a week later a 

 Barn Owl flew out of the hole, and ten days later my son found 

 that the Owl was sitting on four of her own eggs and that of the 

 Stock Dove, having driven the latter away. 



I have met with other curious combinations of eggs in the 

 same nest, such as Jackdaws' with Starlings', Starlings' with Stock 

 Doves', Robins' with Starlings' (the nest being in a hole in a tree), 

 Great Tits' with Redstarts', Great Tits' with Tree Sparrows', 

 Whitethroats' with Lesser Whitethroats', and Moorhens' with 

 Coots'. 



I once found a Coal Tit's snug nest built in an old Thrushes' 

 nest. 



A little girl once brought me a Whitethroat's nest containing 

 a tiny egg about as big as a " caraway comfit. ' : She said she 

 had watched the nest for some time, and finding that no more 

 eggs were laid, and that the bird continued to sit, she brought the 

 nest away. Could this be the abortive attempt of a hen without 

 a mate ? 



In 1890 I found a Kingfisher's nest under unusual conditions. 

 The bank selected had been worn away by the river until it had 

 come close to the footpath, and underneath this the nest had been 

 placed. The eggs, which were hatching out, lay in the bare soil 

 of the hole. This is the only example of the kind I have met 

 with, as in my experience the Kingfisher always makes a lining 

 of bones before commencing to lay. 



The Wood Warbler usually makes a domed nest ; but I once 

 found a nest of this species the top of which was formed by the 

 root of a tree. 



In 1886 a keeper pointed out to me what he thought was a 

 Jay's nest. His son climbed the tree to examine the nest, from 

 which a large bird flew out. To our astonishment, he brought 

 down five warm Pheasant's eggs, and it was undoubtedly the old 

 Pheasant which had flown out. Later the keeper showed me 

 some birds which were the offspring of a cock Pheasant and a 



