COL, DRUMMOND HAY ON PERTHSHIRE BIRDS’ NESTS. 147 
most of which I myself have found at one time or another, I felt 
quite equal to carry this out, and am glad the result has met with 
your approval. In some cases, such as in that of the Sheldrake inside 
a rabbit’s burrow, the Herring Gull on the wall of the Round 
Tower at Loch Rannoch, the Sand-Martin, and some others, special 
means had to be devised to represent the natural characters of the 
locality and position of the nest. So also with the floating nests, 
which are preserved just as they were, with merely the addition of the 
water being represented. The nests of the Water Hen and Coot, 
though sometimes resting on a raft of moss or reeds, are generally to 
be seen floating on the water. That of the Little Grebe always 
occurs either among water weeds or attached, as shown in the case^ 
to a clump of reeds. Naturally the eggs should be covered with 
water weeds, but as this could not be accomplished without hiding 
the eggs it was thought better to leave them exposed, as is sometimes 
the case when the bird has been suddenly disturbed, and has not 
had time to cover them. 
The variety of bird architecture is great. Even in the same 
family the differences are wide. For example, the Chaffinch and the 
Lesser Redpole build beautiful and highly-finished nests, while that 
of the House Sparrow is usually clumsily constructed of straw, hay, 
pieces of string, worsted, or any other material he can pick up, and 
is lined with feathers, but these things are coarsely and carelessly put 
together. When he chooses a tree to build in, it is still of the same 
character—one of the most untidy of nests. Similar differences of 
character are seen among the nests of the Sylviadas. 
