The nest, which is carelessly constructed of fibres, stalks, and grass, and thickly lined with hair and feathers, is built upon rocks, in holes of walls, under eaves of houses, or in similar situations. Hollow trees are occasionally, but very rarely, employed for this purpose. The eggs have a delicate, glossy, pure white shell, and are usually from five to seven in number. Both parents labour equally in feeding and tending the little family, but upon the female devolves almost the entire work of brooding, the male only relieving her for about two hours at noon. As many as three broods are sometimes produced in the course of a season. THE GARDEN REDSTART. The GARDEN REDSTART (_Ruticilla phœnicura_ or _Phœnicura ruticilla_), a common English species, is a very beautiful bird. The sides of its beak, forehead, and throat, are black; the rest of the upper part of the body dark grey. The breast, sides, and tail, are bright rust-red; the part of the head immediately above the brow and the centre of the under side are white. The plumage of the female is dark grey above, and of a lighter shade beneath; her throat is occasionally of a deeper hue. The young are grey, spotted with reddish yellow, on the back; and the feathers on the under side have rust-red borders; the eyes of all are brown, and the beak and feet black. This bird is five inches and a half long, and three broad; the wing measures three, and the tail two inches and a quarter. The Garden Redstart is an inhabitant of Europe and Asia, from whence it migrates to pass the winter months in the eastern provinces of India or the interior of Africa. In its habits and mode of life it very closely resembles the species last described, with this exception, that it usually perches upon trees. Its sweet song is composed of two or three gentle flute-like cadences. The nest is roughly constructed of dry fibres and grass, and thickly lined with feathers; it is usually situated in a hollow tree, or hole in a wall or rock, such cavities being preferred as have a very narrow entrance. The eggs, from five to eight in number, have a smooth blueish green shell (see Fig. 16, Coloured Plate XVI.), and are laid at the latter end of April. A second brood is produced in June, and, strangely enough, is deposited, not in the nest employed for the first family, but in another, specially prepared for its reception. The pair, however, often return to their first breeding-place the following summer. * * * * * The MEADOW WARBLERS (_Pratincola_) are a group of small, stoutly-built birds, with variegated plumage; short, thick, rounded beaks; wings of moderate size; in which the third and fourth quills exceed the rest in length; short tails, composed of slender feathers; and long, thin legs. The members of this group inhabit the eastern hemisphere, and frequent localities overgrown with shrubs or underwood. THE BROWN-THROATED MEADOW WARBLER.