16B 



TTHE KATURALIST. 



Pied Flycatcher, Muscicapa atricapilla. I once knew a pair of these 

 birds build in one of the holes of a pigeon box, fastened upon the wall of a 

 house at the height of about twenty feet from the ground. Tor some days 

 before the nest was commenced, the male, readily distinguishable by the 

 pure black and white of his plumage, might constantly be se3n peering into 

 the holes and crevices of the neighbouring walls, occasionally entering one 

 and remaining there as long as a half a minute or more. In Belgium where 

 this species is far more common in the summer months, I have usually 

 found the nest in a small hollow in the trunk of a tree, once it was discovered 

 in the deserted nest of a green woodpecker, and once in a decayed beech log, 

 not more than eight inches above the ground. 



Missel Thrush, Turdus viscivorous, A nest of this bird was found by 

 me in a very unusual situation, viz : upon an old nest of a woodpigeon at 

 the height of twenty six feet from the ground in a tall slender fir tree. I 

 watched it almost from its commencemen t until two eggs had been laid 

 when it was destroyed by some mischievous boys. 



Song Thrush, Turdiis musicus. Some years ago, having discovered the 

 nest of a song thrush, and witnessed one of the birds at work — so there can 

 be no doubt as to its species — I left the spot for several days, only returning 

 about the time that the first egg was supposed to have been laid. Great was 

 my astonishment on making the discovery that during the interval a neat 

 layer of small pieces of green moss had been recently securely and evenly 

 spread over the still moist layer of mud within. Five eggs of the usual 

 size and colour were afterwards deposited. The nest was placed among 

 thorns and brambles about eighteen inches from the ground. It was in 

 Watching this nest that I first became aware of the fact that the lining of the 

 song thrush's nest is smoothed and rounded by means of a peculiar shufiling 

 movement of the breast of the bird. 



I have found as many as seven eggs in the nest of the song thrush, 

 but it is scarcely probable that the whole were the produce of one bird, this 

 instance having occurred in a coj^se where the species was exceedingly 

 abundant. 



Among the numerous varieties of the egg which have come under my 

 notice, some have been spotters and others more streaked than spotted, so as 

 to resemble Mr. Morris's figure of the egg of White's thrush. 



Blackbird, Turdus merida. Low down in a thorn hedge I once 

 found a blackbird's nest composed entirely of fibrous roots, coarse upon - 

 the outside, but almost as fine as hairs inside of all. The peculiarity was 



