interwoven with the branches of the bush. The site chosen by this dove was the more surprising, as the bank lay on the verge of an extensive range of wood, composed for the most part of fir trees.
The situation of the nest of a magpie (Pica melanoleuca) found in the west of Linlithgowshire, a knowledge of which was communicated to me by my brother, the Rev. Andrew Duncan, Mid Calder,—is equally striking with the above. It was fixed among the top branches of a hawthorn bush, which fenced by the side of the northern road between Edinburgh and Glasgow. This circumstance is curious, as it shows a boldness not often evinced by the magpie.[1]
A few years ago I recollect finding the nest of a blackbird thrust into a hole in a wall. The hole had been made by the farmer on whose ground the wall stood, for the purpose of receiving the end of one of the bars of a gate. In a tree immediately behind our house a magpie had for two years built its nest. On the third year we climbed the tree, as usual, to enquire for our chattering friend, when, instead of the "prating thing in black and white," out flew a blackbird (Turdus Merula), and on examination it was found that this bird had erected its habitation within the old nest of the magpie. During the same season we found a blackbird's nest fixed in a currant-bush within a few feet of a cottage. And in the following spring a similar nest was discovered in a tree of ivy, which crept along a wall within a few yards of our house, and not beyond the reach of a person's hand while passing up or down the steps which admit to the garden.
In the same locality I have got the lodging of a wren (Troglodytes vulgaris). The circumstance that this bird builds many nests which it never intends to use as nurseries, has not been adverted to by many ornithologists. These nests are built by the male bird, perhaps for his own amusement, or for his use during the night, while the cradle-nest is occupied by his patient mate. They are situated at a little distance from the proper domicile, and are not lined like those for rearing the young in, but are simply composed of green moss, or of withered leaves, often of the oak tree, as circumstances direct. One bird builds many of these nests; and he seems to exercise all his wit in pitching upon absurd localities. I remember seeing one of these wrens engaged in building a nest in a wall immediately behind our stable. It was good sport to sit down at a back window and watch his manœuvres. The nest was formed of oak leaves, many of which were far larger than the tiny architect. It was amusing to see
- ↑ Macgillivray's ' British Birds,' vol. iii.
