178 HANDBOOK OF BRITISH INLAND BIRDS 
rived from a Greek source, though it has been 
a good deal criticised, even after all sorts of 
wild conjectures as to what bird was meant were 
finally disposed of by the poet's own statement 
that he meant the Kingfisher. Nesting usually 
begins about the second week in May, though 
occasionally much earlier. A hole is bored in 
the side of a bank, generally close to water, but 
sometimes in a dry sand or gravel pit, while 
rarely the birds will utilise a crevice in a wall. 
A new hole is generally made each season, but 
it is often close to the old one. It is usually 
about two feet long, and slopes a little upward 
from the entrance ; it ends in a rather larger 
chamber, and here the eggs are laid on the bare 
soil, sprinkled with a few fish bones, which increase 
in number as time goes on. The eggs are from 
six to ten in number, eight, perhaps, being com- 
monest, and are pure, glossy white, very much 
rounded in shape, and midway between the Robin's 
and the Thrush's in size. Their rounded outline 
makes them easily distinguishable from all other 
white eggs of about the same size. When fresh 
and unblown, the yolk shines through the shell 
with a beautiful pinkish tint, as is the case with 
the Martin's and other white eggs with very 
delicate shells. 
