celebrated heronry on the property of Sir George Musgrave, Bart., a t Eden Hall, in Cumberland, which
comprises about one hundred nests, and the estate o f W . Amhurst T . Amhurst, Esq., at Didlington Park, in
Norfolk. Other and most interesting colonies o f birds a re to be seen, such as those o f the Black-headed
Gulls, in various counties, particularly at Scoulton and other meres in Norfolk.
With respect to the receptacles for their eggs when laid, birds offer many interesting peculiarities. Some
will content themselves with the bare ledge of a rock, the pyriform shape of their eggs being the only safeguard
against their falling over the precipice; others deposit their eggs on a mass o f sea-weed o r in a
floating nest composed o f rotten aquatic plants, as is the case with the Grebes. Where a more ambitious
structure is erected, we find every degree of complication, from the loosely built platform o f the Wood-
Pigeon to the elegant lichen-crusted nest o f the Long-tailed Tit. Each species shows in its nesting a most
perfect adaptation to the exigencies o f the situation. Where, like the nest o f the Sedge-Warblers, it is
swayed to and fro amidst the reeds by every passing wind, the deep purse-like shape o f the interior is a safe
provision against the eggs being blown o u t; under our eaves the homely Martin plasters its nest o f m u d ;
the Goldcrest hangs its hammock-like cradle beneath the tip of a pendent fir bough; and in holes o f trees
and walls the Tits delight to construct their felted nests.
I should fatigue my readers and exceed the latitude allowed me in this introduction, were I to dwell longer
upon the situations affected by various species in their nidification, o r the wondrous forms shown in the
construction of their homes. Otherwise I might dilate upon the ingenuity displayed in the dome-like nests o f
th e Magpie, in the approach to that shape seen in those o f the common House-Sparrow when built in trees,
o r in the fish-bone floor o f the Kingfisher’s r e tr e a t; but all these will be found more fully dwelt upon in the
descriptions attached to the representation of each species in the body of the work. I may, however, remark
in passing that the structural skill displayed by many o f our birds is far surpassed by th at o f certain foreign
species; and we a re struck with astonishment when we gaze upon such nests as those o f the Tailorbird, the
Sociable Grosbeak, the Weaverbird, the Icleri o r Hang-nests.
In writing upon subjects connected with ornithology I find the associations o f my boyhood ever flitting
before me. Well can I recollect the dried body o f the brightly coloured Kingfisher hanging from the cottager’s
ceiling, and supposed by its movements to point the direction o f the wind*—a superstition now, like many
others, happily abandoned. Well do I recollect also the particoloured strings o f eggs with which I and
my companions delighted to festoon the walls, and which were rigorously destroyed in our games before
the termination of the year, in order to ward off the ill-luck otherwise supposed to ensue. I can still
* “But how now stands the wind?
Into what comer peers my halcyon’s bill 1 ”
Marlowe’s Jew of Malta.
remember with what intense admiration I was filled in gazing upon the nest and lovely blue eggs of the
common Hedge-Sparrow, and the pride I had in consigning them, when blown and thus bereft of half their
beauty, to that string which was to hold so many of my subsequent findings. Coequally with the spread of
natural history generally, has advanced the interest felt in the collecting of eggs—so much so that even
amongst school-boys they now find their way into carefully appointed cabinets, in place o f being used only as
the plaything of an hour. The study of Oology at the present day may fairly claim an important place
amongst the sciences; and, to speak more specially on the subject, I could name several men, whose studies
have taken this direction, who follow their taste with such ardour that neither distance nor expense suffice to
deter them. One o f the most enthusiastic o f these was the late Mr. John Wolley, who immured himself in
the heart o f Lapland for two or three winters for the sole purpose of being sufficiently early on the breeding-
grounds to procure such rare eggs as those of the Gyrfalcon, Pine-Grosbeak, Waxen Chatterer, and Smew.
To enhance still further the interest attaching to the study of oology, I have only to refer to the beautiful
form, colour, and markings of m ost eggs, and to the difference in the number that are laid by various species.
The Common Guillemot and the Razorbill lay but one, and that very large in comparison with the bird ; on
the other hand the Grouse will lay nearly a dozen ; the Swift lays invariably two, and the Swallow four, while
some o f our Tits deposit from twelve to fourteen. Those eggs which are white are frequently placed in dark
situations; but this is by no means a constant rule, since in the case o f the Wood-Pigeon and Turtle Dove
the eggs are not only fully exposed to light, but, owing to the slight structure o f the nest, may be frequently
descried through it. Their allies the Stock-Dove and Rock-Pigeon, however, lay theirs in the dark, as does
also the Wryneck, all three having white eggs. On the other hand the Nuthatch, Creeper, and many of tbe
Tits, producing speckled eggs, deposit them in holes of trees and other places inaccessible to the light o f day.
From the egg to the chick is a natural sequence; and here commences a stage in the life o f birds which
has been regarded by myself with more than ordinary interest. I f any one feature in my illustrations to the
* Birds of Great Britain ’ has special claims to originality, it is the representation of the young or infantine
state o f many of the species ; and this, I trust, will be duly appreciated by those who possess the work. In
the imagination o f most people young birds are blind, callow, helpless creatures, depending in every way on
the fostering care o f their parents, and instinctively opening their gaping bills to receive the food assiduously
brought to them. Such a helpless condition as this undoubtedly prevails amongst the young of nearly all,
if not all, the Insessorial b ird s ; but compare these with those o f other forms, and what vast differences are
seen ! The tiny offspring o f the Grebe, emerging from its bursting shell in all the vigour and activity of a
fully organized being, is immediately capable of clambering, should danger approach, upon its mother’s back,
or o f seeking security and concealment by diving under a floating leaf. Who is not familiar with the
Duckling, which, from birth, equals, if it does not surpass, its parents in the quickness of its movements,
and in the skill with which it darts over the surface o f the water in pursuit o f flies or other insects ? As a