22 



The Irish Naturalist. 



March, 



eggs and the female — and boy-like plucked the wings of the 

 female, so as to prevent its escape, and were determined 

 to make the female sit out the eggs in the hen-cote, so after 

 having found what they considered a suitable nesting place 

 in the cote, the boys left, but when they visited the nest 

 in a few days, imagine their surprise, the bird was not to 

 be found in the cote, but on going to a cock-nest a short 

 distance away, they found the female sitting upon either 

 one or more eggs. So it is quite evident that cock-nests 

 in some instances are utilised for breeding purposes in 

 certain contingencies. 



I have also known cock-nests to be used for roosting 

 purposes by fledged young which have been reared in 

 other nests, and sometimes a cock-nest may be used ex- 

 clusively by a male bird one season and the following year 

 refurbished and utilised for breeding purposes. As far as 

 this district is concerned, I very seldom find more than 

 one cock-nest near the nest used by the female for rearing 

 its young ; and never found five or six which were 

 used by the male bird at the same time. Naturalists 

 have recorded that occasionally as many as fifteen to 

 seventeen eggs have been found in the nest of the Wren ; 

 if so, I should be inclined to believe they were the produce 

 of two females. 



A few years ago I had a poultry-run near this village 

 through which a stream runs ; at the extremities of the north 

 and south end of the run is an arched bridge, in the crevices 

 of which the Wren often built its nest. The nests were 

 domelcss, and if I had not seen the old birds I could easily 

 have mistaken the nest for that of a Tit. I have often found 

 Wren nests built in walls where perhaps a stone has been 

 removed, but such nests have always had a dome. Two 

 or three years ago I found a cock-nest built at the base 

 of a nest of the Blackbird, which was used during the winter 

 as a sleeping place. I have known the Wren to utilise the 

 nest of a Whilctliroat, and some writers say that any 

 slight disturbance of the nest will cause the owners to 

 forsake, but tliis is contrary to my experience. The severe 

 winter of i<S79-8o was the cause of high mortality amongst 

 this species. 



Wilsden, Bradfcnd. 



