THE CURLEW'S NEST. 
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the Bird World. There is little to admire in this structure of dry grass, 
twigs of heath, and bits of broken branches, loosely and even carelessly 
arranged ; very shallow, and about a foot in diameter. Four are the 
eggs in number ; pear-shaped ; excessively large ; three inches long, 
close upon two inches in diameter ; in colour a light olive, or dull 
CURLEWS. 
yellowish-brown, or pale grayish-green, spotted and splashed with 
umber brown, especially towards the larger end ; contrasting so little 
in their general tint with the surrounding objects, that had not the 
bird sprang up almost under our feet, we should not have observed 
them. Far up on the hill-side rings her loud note, to which comes a 
speedy response from the opposite slope : in another place a bird begins 
