THE YOUXG NATURALIST. 



63 



rows, are greenish-white, blotched and shaded with 

 arker green and brown ; but the position in 

 ^ hich they are taken will, in most cases, sufficiently 

 ;termine what species they belong to. None 

 it the Rook builds in colonies. The Crow is 

 rer than the Rook ; it builds solitarily in woods, 

 ldom more than one nest in a wood, as they are 

 :ry quarrelsome. The nest is made of sticks, 

 led with softer material, such as wool, &c, 

 astered with mud. The eggs are of the general 

 ow type, and very similar to those of the Rook, 

 it rather larger. The nest of the Hooded Crow 

 xy sometime? be found in Scotland. The birds 

 ty at once be known by being pied, slate-color and 

 "ack. The eggs closely resemble those of the 

 nrrionCrow, buttheblotcb.es are'larger. The Jack- 

 i.wsbuildinhollowtrees andin towers, andare very 

 ;merous in some places — as at Sherwood Forest, 

 le spots on the egg of this species are small and 

 itinct. The nests of all the Crows are composed 

 t sticks, but that of the Magpie has a dome built 

 cer the top, of the same material, and the inside 

 lined with mud and fibrous roots. It is most 

 quently placed high up in a tree, but sometimes 

 | a high hedge, and it is even said lo have been 

 tnd in " gooseberry bushes." This beautiful 

 I d used to be very common, but it is becoming 

 s.rcer each year owing to the gamekeepers killing 

 a they can. The eggs, like those of other Crows, 

 Ire a greenish-gray ground, with indistinct darker 

 |)ts, sometimes almost entirely covering the 

 pund color. The Jay builds in similar situations 

 . ■ uses no clay or mud in the construction of the 

 Mt. The eggs are gray, almost covered with 

 liute greenish-brown spots, and often one or two 

 tck lines at the larger end. This bird, like the 

 is much persecuted by the gamekeepers. 



WOODPECKERS, &c. 



)nlytwoof the true Woodpeckers can be said to 

 j at all common in England — the Green, and 

 Greater Spotted ; sometimes the Lesser Spotted 

 ioun<J, but it is rarer, and generally confined to 

 West-midland counties. All the Woodpeckers 

 £ their eggs in holes in trees, often excavating 

 holes themselves — either wholly or partially, 

 iy build no nest, but lay their eggs on the chips 

 ich have fallen to the bottom. The eggs are 

 ■te, with a clayey tint. The Green Wood- 

 pker is the largest, and is not uncommon in 

 sue of the large forests, as at Sherwood. The 



j Wryneck and the Creeper make use of similar 

 j situations, but do not excavate theholesthemselves, 

 | and both make use of some material to lay their 

 , eggs upon. The Creeper generally uses a little 

 j fine hay, and the Wryneck decayed wood mixed 

 with a little moss. The eggs of the latter are a 

 pure white, and more glossy than those of the 

 Woodpecker. The eggs of the Creeper are white, 

 spotted with red-brown, chiefly at the larger end, 

 — something like those of the Tits, — but they are 

 rather short, and thick at the larger end. Every- 

 body knows the Wren, and also its nest, — those 

 large bundles of dry fern, with a little hole at one 

 side, and lined with feathers. The eggs are white, 

 with faint red spots at the large end. Before the 

 eggs are blown they have a beautiful delicate pink 

 or yellowish tint, owing to the color of the yelk 

 showing through the thin shell. The Nuthatch 

 has much the same habits as the Woodpecker, 

 climbing trees in search of insects, and building 

 its nest in holes in their trunks. The material 

 used in the construction of the ne>t is dry leaves, 

 and the eggs are white, with reddish spot-. This 

 bird generally plasters up the entrance until it is 

 only just large enough for its admission. The 

 Cuckoo — as everyone knows — builds no nest at all, 

 but lays its eggs in the nests of other birds, espec- 

 ially in those of the Hedge Sparrow and Meadow 

 Pipit. One egg only is laid in one nest, and it is 

 not unlike some varieties of the egg of the Meadow 

 Pipit : the ground color is whitish, with numerous 

 indistinct spots of reddish gray, most abundant at 

 the large end. When found in the nest of the 

 Meadow Pipit they may be easily known by the'r 

 larger size. The Kingfisher is one of the brightest 

 colored birds we have. The nest, which is com- 

 posed of the bones of fishes, is placed in a hole in 

 the bank of some stream ; and the eggs are pure 

 white, rather round, and very highly polished. 



As an illustration of the rapid growth of the now 

 celebrated Eucalyptus globulus, we may mention 

 that in the more elevated parts of Jamaica trees 

 now exist about sixty feet high, the trunks of which 

 measure a foot in diameter near the ground. These 

 trees have been raised from seed introduced to 

 the island about six years ago. It is proved that 

 in the lowland districts the tree does not thrive, 

 thus upsetting its suitability for regions in which 

 it was at one time specially advocated . 



