Our Letter 
Box. 
(94) THE BIRD WORLD. 
Our Letter Box. 
To the Editor of the Bird World. 
A CURIOUSLY CONSTRUCTED CHAF¬ 
FINCH’S NEST. 
Sir,— As a great lover of British Birds, I 
usually take a ramble in the country to observe the 
doings of our numerous songsters I come across. 
While thus engaged last week, I found a 
Chaffinch’s nest, just built, but without eggs, 
which greatly interested me, as out of hundreds I 
have found I have never seen one like this. Now 
to describe its construction, it was entirely made 
on the outside of papier mache as thick as straws 
(usually found in chocolate boxes) the inside was 
composed of nothing else but a thick layer of 
coarse horse hair, reaching right up to the top. 
Now, as every bird lover knows (or ought to know) 
the Chaffinch generally builds its nest of the 
following materials, the outside consists of green 
moss, grey or yellow lichens, and sometimes a few 
bark scales, the inside of wool, bits of cotton, and 
ha:r neatly fitted together. These birds had 
denied themselves absolutely of wool and moss, 
the most natural, and I may say indispensable 
materials. Why they should have done so 
remains a mystery, as there was plenty near by. 
The nest was built in a large elm tree, and situated 
only about 3 feet off the ground, in a very exposed 
position, where it catches all winds, there not 
being any branches or shrubbery around it, the 
large branches of the tree itself towering 20 or 30 
Photo by ] [ PV. L. Murray. 
The Chaffinch’s Papier Mache Nest. 
feet above, afford good shelter against rain. The 
nest is not very neatly made, of course the material 
is against that, as it is easily torn, but it is 
evidently good enough for its owners. I send you 
a photo of same which, if you desire, you can 
publish for the benefit of the thousands of readers 
of the Bird World. 
Still another curio I found yesterday. Two 
pairs of Wrens have built a combined nest on a 
strip of wood that is holding two big lintels 
together over a barn door. Each pair have 
separate entrances, one each side, one nest 
contains five, and the other seven eggs. With 
difficulty I got two fingers inside each nest to 
make sure, and right enough, they were divided 
by a sort of partition made of moss and leaves. 
If possible I will get a snapshot of these as they 
are not met with every day. 
W. L. Murray. 
40, Fort Street, 
Douglas, Isle of Man. 
To the Editor of the Bird World. 
NESTING OF THE LONG-TAILED TIT. 
Sir, —A pair of those charming little birds—the 
long-tailed tits—have built in our grounds this 
year ; and I thought that it might be of interest 
to compare the nest with the one mentioned by 
your correspondent in the June number. Our 
nest is cunningly concealed among the branches 
of a very large Spanish fir-tree on the lawn. It is 
built underneath, and near the end of, one of the 
lower branches, and the outside is beautifully 
skidded with silvery lichens. The nest is clearly 
supported^ beneath, behind, and at each side by 
the branchlets of the fir, which are actually bound 
in with it. It was about May 1st when we first 
noticed the little birds carrying material into the 
tree, and on looking later on found that the lower 
part of the nest had already been built. One day, 
creeping up unobserved, I was lucky enough to 
find one of the clever little architects at work ; 
she was very busy inside the nest, her long tail 
over her back, every now and then she would 
pop her little head over the edge, and with her 
throat she moulded and pressed the edge of the 
nest into the required cup-like shape. 
In due time the eggs were hatched, and the 
parent birds are now (June 9th) extremely busy 
feeding the little ones, whose heads just appear 
above the entrance hole. 
We are in hopes that these charming little birds 
and their family may long gladden our garden 
with their beauty and grace. 
Yours truly, 
(Miss) Ida Norman. 
Severn .Stoke, Worcester. 
