. Birds' nests, eggs and egg-collecting . ith red, but only very sparingly. Her nest ismade of twigs, grass, and sometimes lined with a fewlong hairs. She builds mostly among the branches ofthe Scotch fir, the nest being gecerally close to the bollor stem. THE its congener, the Skylark, this bird is limitedto certain localities in our islands. Whilst it is fairlyabundant in some districts, it is seldom or never seen inothers. It is highly esteemed as a song-bird, and conse-quently suffers at the hands of professional bird-catchers^especially as its young begin to carol at an ea
. Birds' nests, eggs and egg-collecting . ith red, but only very sparingly. Her nest ismade of twigs, grass, and sometimes lined with a fewlong hairs. She builds mostly among the branches ofthe Scotch fir, the nest being gecerally close to the bollor stem. THE its congener, the Skylark, this bird is limitedto certain localities in our islands. Whilst it is fairlyabundant in some districts, it is seldom or never seen inothers. It is highly esteemed as a song-bird, and conse-quently suffers at the hands of professional bird-catchers^especially as its young begin to carol at an early period oftheir existence. Its nest is situated on the ground, usuallywell concealed beneath a tuft of grass or low plant, andis composed of grass, bents, moss, and hairs, the coarsermaterial used on the outside and the finer to line theinterior. The eggs are four or five in number, of a lighterground colour than the Skylarks eggs, thickly speckledwith reddish-brown, the spots sometimes, but rarely,forming a zone at the larger end. ?r. EGGS. I. Woodlark. 2. Nightjar. 3. Stormy Petrel. 4- Stonechat. 5. Bittern. 7. Merlin. 8. Little Grebe. 9. Whcatear. EGGS AND EGG-COLLECTING, 33 THE MERLIN. VLike some other of the Hawks, the Merlin does not takemuch trouble in the construction of her nest, simplyselecting a little hollow, usually well hidden by heather,in moorland districts, lining it with dead ling and a littlegrass. The eggs number from three to six^ according tosome authorities; but I have usually found four on theNorth Riding moors, brown in colour, thickly covered withspots, blotches, and marblings of a reddish hue, especiallyat the larger end. THE ground is chosen as the situation of this bird^s nest,well hidden amongst the dense growth of reeds and flags,in close proximity to the water it haunts. It is composedof a plenteous supply of sticks, reeds, flag-leaves, & eggs are found in numbers of from three to five, andhave been described a
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