NESTS AND EGGS. 
with a dull brownish-red. The Goshawk has the largest egg 
of all the falcons, being in shape and colonr as well as size 
very much like that of the common duck ; it is scarce with ns, 
but common in the North of Scotland, breeding, as Mr. Low 
informs ns, on the rocks of the sea-coast, on the rocky Gram- 
pians, and on the wooded banks of the Dee. In the forests of 
Germany it builds in a high tree on the outskirts of the forest, 
laying three or four eggs of a bluish-white colour, two inches 
and a quarter in length by an inch and a quarter in diameter, 
and without spots. 
The egg of the Sparrow-Hawk is the most marked of all the 
falcons’ eggs, but remarkable also for its variations ; it forms 
a roundish oval, an inch and four-eighths long by an inch and 
three-eighths broad, of an ashy-grey colour, covered at the larger 
end with brown blotches and streaks. The sparrow-hawk is 
most frequently found to appropriate the deserted nest of a 
crow or magpie. Sometimes the eggs are found on the ledge 
of a rock or some lofty cliff. Mr. Selby says it also builds a 
shallow nest in some low tree or thorn-bush, the material 
used being slender twigs, on which it lays. 
The Owls make little preparation in the way of nests; a 
hollow in the ground, lined with the compressed castings of the 
birds, or a similar accommodation in the hollow of some tree, — • 
the ledge of a rock or a hole in the wall of some ghostly ruin, 
seems all the preparation to which they have recourse ; on this 
bed, sometimes so shallow that the wind would seem able to 
roll their eggs away, the owls lay their two or three eggs, which 
vary much, both in size and shape, but are almost invariably of 
one colour ; a whitish blue, without spots, some of them round, 
others oval, more or less acute. 
He who would find the nest of the Raven must now follow 
him far from the abode of men, scale the rocky cliffs of the 
seashore, or the shelving rocks of remote hilly countries, the 
centre of a grove, or some ancient oak ; for persecution has 
driven this “ bird of evil omen,” as it is sometimes considered, 
away from its old haunts, the ruined tower or ancient steeple. 
Sometimes, however, it is still known to build its nest in some 
lofty tree, and if left undisturbed it will return successively for 
many years, refurnishing its nest annually with a lining of 
the fur of the rabbit and other animals. The nest is large, com- 
posed of a foundation of sticks crossed and plastered together 
with clay, with a lining first of fibrous roots, and inside a 
carpet of fur, wool, or hair. The eggs (fig. 21) are four, five, 
318 
