no 
FRINGILLID^. 
until noon next day the birds disappeared. They next laid 
the foundation of the other half of the circle, continuing steadily 
at their task until the structure was equal in height all round. 
They now appeared more eager to proceed, working so diligently 
that by the evening of the fourth day the mass of roots, grass, 
and stalks of plants formed a perfectly circular wall, an inch 
and a half in height and about two inches in thickness, some- 
what loose and irregular upon the outside, but with the inside 
neatly interwoven, and sloping rather suddenly to the bare 
patch of ground enclosed. On the morning of the fifth day I 
observed a few feathers upon the ground in the centre, and 
the number rapidly increased until the sides were covered 
more than half-way towards the brim; in the evening the 
feathers were almost concealed by a quantity of cows’ hair, 
among which a little wool was intermingled. More work 
was done upon that day than upon any other. Having often 
found rabbit’s fur in the nest of the Twite, I now procured a 
quantity of that material, and strewed it over the ground, not 
too near, lest it might cause suspicion. Although it was soon 
discovered, the birds were not quite contented, using it rather 
sparingly, and working it into a felt-like mass with wool and 
the hair of cows and ponies. This process appeared to be one 
of difficulty and to require great care, for it was not before 
the evening of the eighth day that the task was completed, the 
brim of the cavity being by that time neatly finished off with 
a few long black horse-hairs, and measuring exactly two inches 
and a quarter in diameter. On the ninth day the birds were 
not to be seen, but by the morning of the tenth day the first 
egg was laid. Every succeeding morning I found an additional 
egg, until five had been laid, and the female began to sit. It 
is seldom that the lining of the nest touches the ground, as it did 
in this instance, a layer of fibrous roots, &c., being generally in- 
terposed. I observed that the thickness of the lower part of 
the nest is greatest in those specimens which have been found 
in bushes far above the ground. On another occasion, in 
August 1865, my attention being attracted by the peculiar 
