Jumping over a little brook, a snipe darts away from a tuft of grass. In the center are snugly laid four richly marked eggs of a greenish-olive hue, blotched and spotted with two or three shades of brown. A large series show the eggs to differ much in ground color and markings. This bird is numerous in Yorkshire; I have found it breeding in all parts of the county.
Only two species of duck nest in the moors, near the lagoons, the common mallard and the teal.
The mallard usually lays from seven to twelve pale olive-green tinted eggs in a nest of grass, lined with down; size about 2.25x1.60.
The teal builds a nest of vegetable substances, lined with down and feathers. Six to twelve eggs are laid of a buffy white; size, 1.75x1.25.
The short-eared owl is found nesting here; its nest is always on the ground, a simple structure of sticks, grass and heather, upon which it lays four or five white elliptical eggs, averaging in size 1.55x1.25.
Three other species of owls nest in this district: the barn owl, the tawny owl and the long-eared owl.
The latter generally selects some old crow or magpie's nest; and lays from four to six eggs, not so round as those of the short-eared species.
Tramping over the moors for a mile or so, a bird rises from the hillside before us and dashes away at a great rate. Marking down the spot, we find a stone surrounded by bird's feathers and insects' wings, and pick up a titlark which is still warm. This is the shambles of a merlin hawk who was just going to dine off the titlark when we disturbed him. We set about to look around for its nest, when my brother cried out "Here it is with four splendid eggs." In a few seconds I was there, gazing on the treasures with delight and admiration. The nest was a mixed mass of twigs, heather and brakens, raised a few inches high; and the four eggs resting in a slight hollow in the center. Their ground color was a dark, crimson brown, speckled all over with dark brown and black. Some varieties resemble eggs of the kestril hawk, but a series of fifty eggs before me do not show such varieties in color as the eggs of the kestril do. As a rule, they are smaller than the kestril's eggs and not so round, nor so boldly marked. We blow the eggs and pack them away with care, and proceed farther on.