Although nowhere abundant, this bird breeds in suitable districts throughout England. Its nest is situated in a hole in the trunk or some large branch of a tree, and is about seven to a dozen inches deep. I have found it quite close to London. No materials are used for the nest except chippings of dry wood detached in the construction of the hole. Eggs from five or six to eight, and even nine, white, without spots, and polished. THE WILLOW WREN. The nest of the Willow Wren, or Willow Warbler, is situated on or near the ground in fields, orchards, woods, and almost everywhere. It is made of moss, bits of dried grass, occasionally fern-fronds or leaves, and is lined with feathers and hair. The eggs number from four or five to seven, and upon occasion I have found eight. They are white, spotted with reddish-brown. THE SEDGE WARBLER. I have found this bird's nest amongst low bushes, tufts of tall, coarse grass, and amongst nettles; generally, though not always, near water. It is composed of grass-stems lined with finer grass, horsehair, and sometimes vegetable down in small quantities. The eggs number five or six, light yellowish-brown tinged with blue, which is rarely seen on account of the closely-crowded yellowish-brown or buffish-brown markings. The eggs generally have a few streaks or lines of blackish-brown on the larger end. THE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. The nest of this bird is found on the ground, concealed beneath rocks, or amongst the vegetation growing on the banks of large bodies of water in Scotland and Ireland. I have seen it on the banks of streams, where it must have been washed away by the first freshet. It is composed of bits of heather, dry leaves, and down from the bird's own body. The eggs number from six or seven to nine, or even a dozen, and vary from buffish-grey to pale olive-grey in colour. THE GREENSHANK. Breeds chiefly in the Highlands of Scotland, and the islands lying to the west thereof. Its nest is merely a slight declivity lined with a few bits of dry grass, dead heather, or leaves. The eggs number four, of a stone colour or creamy-white, spotted and blotched dark reddish-brown and grey. THE WHIMBREL. The islands to the west and north of Scotland are the breeding home of the Whimbrel. A slight dry hollow in the shelter of a tussock of grass or heath is selected on some lonely piece of moor. The nest is lined with a few blades of withered grass, sprigs of heather, or dead leaves. The eggs number four, varying from darkish buff to olive-green, spotted and blotched with reddish-brown, olive-brown, and underlying markings of grey. [Illustration: EGGS. 1. Wood Warbler. 2. Greenshank. 3. Sandwich Tern. 4. Reed Warbler. 5. Whimbrel. 6. Black Guillemot. 7. Garganey. 8. Red-breasted Merganser. 9. Bearded Tit. ] THE REED WARBLER.