[Illustration: EGGS. 1. Pied Fly-catcher. 2. Meadow Pipit. 3. Tree Pipit. 4. Dunlin. 5. Landrail. 6. Skua. 7. Wigeon. 8. Golden Plover. 9. Skylark. ] THE LITTLE GREBE. An immense mass of aquatic weeds floating on the surface of a quiet pond, and thoroughly saturated with water, forms the nest of this bird. She lays from five to six eggs, at first white, but gradually becoming dyed a dirty mud colour by the decaying weeds with which the parent bird covers them on leaving her nest to seek food, &c. THE CAPERCAILZIE. This bird's nest is situated on the ground, and is composed of a few sticks and ling stalks. The eggs number from six to twelve, and are of a pale reddish-yellow brown, spotted all over with two shades of darker orange-brown, somewhat like those of the Black Grouse. THE MEADOW PIPIT. The nest of this common little bird is built of bents, with an inner lining of grass and hairs. It is situated on the ground, and generally in such a position that protection from the rain, sheep's feet, &c., is afforded by a stout tuft of bents, a projecting piece of earth or stone. Its whereabouts is, however, generally betrayed by the parent bird's peculiar flight when disturbed, even in the earliest stages of incubation. In the course of a day's travel on the moors I have met with several nests, some of them remarkably close to each other. The eggs number from four to six; and in spite of the fact that some eminent authorities have said that they are of a reddish-brown, mottled over with darker brown, varying but little, I should describe them as varying from light to very dark dusky brown. I should conclude, from long observation, that more Cuckoos are bred and reared by this bird than all the other foster-parents put together; and it is remarkable what affection it shows for the adopted nursling. Not long ago I had the misfortune to shoot a young Cuckoo during the dusk of evening in mistake for a Hawk, and was struck with pity on seeing the poor Meadow Pipit light on the dead body of the unfortunate victim, and try to drag it away as I approached. THE PIED FLY-CATCHER. This bird seems to resort annually to the same locality, and use the same nest year after year, which is composed of moss, grass, bents, feathers, hair, &c., and is situated in holes in pollard-trees and walls. She lays four or five eggs, of a pale blue, which might not erroneously be described as greenish-blue, unspotted. THE TREE PIPIT. The Tree Pipit's nest is always on the ground, beneath the shelter of a tuft of grass or low bush, and is made of fibrous roots, moss, and wool, lined with fine grass and hair. The eggs number from four to six, and are so variable in colour that verbal description is almost baffled in attempting to convey an impression of what they are like. Some are purple-red, thickly sprinkled with spots of a deeper shade; others of a yellowish-white, spotted and sprinkled all over with greyish-brown, like a Sparrow's egg.