The Twite breeds on the moors in the North of England, Scotland, and in Ireland. Its nest is situated on or near the ground amongst heather or furze. It is composed of sprigs of heath, and lined with rootlets, wool, feathers, and hair. The eggs number four or five, sometimes six, and are similar to those of the Linnet, pale bluish-green, spotted, speckled, and streaked with purplish-red and reddish-brown. I have found several nests close together on a small rocky islet in the Highlands.
THE BEARDED TIT.
It is thought by some writers that the exceptionally hard weather we experienced last winter (1894-5) has extinguished this little bird in its last resort, the fens of Norfolk and Cambridgeshire; however, it is to be hoped that this is not the case. Its nest is composed of dead sedge and reed leaves, lined with grass and reed-down, and is situated near the ground in some large reed bed. The eggs number from four to seven, light brownish-white, sparingly marked with streaks and spots of dark brown.
THE ROSEATE TERN.
So rare a breeder with us has this bird become, that a celebrated authority recently included it in a work on British Birds' Nests only after some hesitation; but I am pleased to say that two pairs bred last year in one of their old haunts well-known to me. The nest is simply a hollow in the sand or shingle of a small rocky island, at no great height from the sea. The eggs number two or three, and exactly resemble in coloration and size those of the Common and Arctic Terns.
EGGS.
1. Fork-tailed Petrel. 2. Mute Swan. 3. Grey-lag Goose.
4. Fulmar Petrel. 5. Manx Shearwater. 6. Spotted Crake.
7. Black Grouse.