114 
SYLVIAD7E. 
custella (threading its way through the grass), approached 
within arm’s length of me ; but, after eyeing me for a 
moment, it commenced a retreat. Feeling confident there 
must be a nest, I took my knife and carefully cut away 
the herbage near the tuft, and then proceeded with the 
tuft itself, in the very centre of which, and in a depression 
of the ground, I found the object of my search, but to the 
very last there was not the slightest appearance of ingress 
or egress. I was so struck with what I had witnessed 
that I again sat down, and ever and anon the same 
stealthy movements to and fro were repeated. The other 
two nests I detected in the same manner, in small open 
places in an extensive wood : their situations were exactly 
alike, being in the centres of two very large tufts of coarse 
grass, at a depth of fourteen or fifteen inches from the 
top. In both cases I watched the movements of the 
female, and they were precisely the same as I have already 
described : she never rose on the wing; and it would 
seem probable (if not disturbed) she never flies either to 
or from her nest, but threads her way through the herbage, 
and thus effectually prevents everything that could lead 
to the discovery of her retreat. 
“ The wdiole proceeding most forcibly reminded me of a 
mouse under similar circumstances. The nests in the 
two latter instances were entirely of dry grass, finer inter¬ 
nally ; in the first there w^as a little moss, owing probably 
to a trifling difference of situation.” 
