Ihe generality of European birds, sup- 
porting it only by the edge or rim, so that 
it bears the appearance of a shallow purse 
or basket. For this purpose the bird 
selects the forked extremity of some slen- 
der branch, and connecting the two forks 
round with straws, grasses, or other vege- 
table fibres proper for the purpose, at 
length connects the two extremities, in 
order to form the verge of the nest; then, 
continuing the straws, &c. from one side 
to the other, giving the whole proper 
depth, and crossing and interweaving 
them as the work proceeds, forms the 
general basket or concavity, which it 
afterwards thickens with the stems of the 
finer grasses, intermixed with moss and 
lichens; and lastly binding it with still 
finer materials, as the silken bags of the 
chrysalides of moths, the eggs of spiders, 
feathers, &c. The bird is observed to 
build generally in high trees, but to place 
the nest in rather a low part of them. 
The usual number of effg-s is four or five 
and their colour of a dirty white, with 
numerous dark brown spots, thickest near 
the larger end. 
