382 Birds. 



interwoven with the branches of the bush. The site chosen by this 

 dove was the more surprising, as the bank lay on the verge of an ex- 

 tensive range of wood, composed for the most part of fir trees. 



The situation of the nest of a magpie {Pica melanoleuca) found in 

 the west of Linhthgowshire, a knowledge of which was communicated 

 to me by my brother, the Rev. Andrew Duncan, Mid Calder, — is 

 equally striking with the above. It was fixed among the top branch- 

 es of a hawthorn bush, which fenced by the side of the northern road 

 between Edinburgh and Glasgow. This circumstance is curious, as 

 it shows a boldness not often evinced by the magpie.* 



A few years ago I recollect finding the nest of a blackbird thrust 

 into a hole in a wall. The hole had been made by the farmer on 

 whose gi'ound the wall stood, for the purpose of receiving the end of 

 one of the bars of a gate. In a tree immediately behind our house a 

 magpie had for two years built its nest. On the third year we climbed 

 the tree, as usual, to enquire for our chattering friend, when, instead of 

 the " prating thing in black and white," out flew a blackbird {Turdus 

 Merula), and on examination it was found that this bird had erected 

 its habitation within the old nest of the magpie. During the same 

 season we found a blackbird's nest fixed in a cui*rant-bush within a 

 few feet of a cottage. And in the following spring a similar nest was 

 discovered in a tree of ivy, which crept along a wall within a few yards 

 of our house, and not beyond the reach of a person's hand while pass- 

 ing up or down the steps which admit to the garden. 



In the same locality I have got the lodging of a wren {Troglodytes 

 vulgaris). The circumstance that this bird builds many nests which 

 it never intends to use as nurseries, has not been adverted to by ma- 

 ny ornithologists. These nests are built by the male bird, perhaps 

 for his own amusement, or for his use during the night, while the cra- 

 dle-nest is occupied by his patient mate. They are situated at a lit- 

 tle distance from the proper domicile, and are not lined like those for 

 rearing the young in, but are simply composed of green moss, or of 

 withered leaves, often of the oak tree, as circumstances direct. One 

 bird builds many of these nests ; and he seems to exercise all his 

 wit in pitching upon absurd localities. I remember seeing one of 

 these wrens engaged in building a nest in a wall immediately behind 

 our stable. It was good sport to sit down at a back window and 

 watch his manoeuvres. The nest was formed of oak leaves, many of 

 which were far larger than the tiny architect. It was amusing to see 



* Macgillivray's * British Birds,' vol. iii. 



