CHAPTER XVII 



THE FURZE-WREN OR FURZE-FAIRY 



A new locality for the Dartford warbler — A search for it on a 

 heath — A litter of feathers — First sight of the furze-wren — 

 First hearing of its song — Its habits and song described — 

 Its originality as a songster. 



I CAME to that unnamed little village, as I have 

 said, in quest of one of our rarest songsters; then 

 the people of the cottage where I lodged came 

 between me and my subject with their human sweet- 

 ness and sorrows, and telling of them I forgot to say 

 whether or not I had found my bird or even to 

 mention its species. 



It happened that about a year or fourteen months 

 before I started on this quest, a friend wrote to inform 

 me that by chance he had discovered a new locality 

 for the Dartford warbler, that delicate birdling of 

 the furze-bushes, our furze-wren, so persistently 

 sought after for many years past by our collectors. 

 He was cycling in the south country, and when going 

 by a side-road at the edge of a wide heath or moor 

 caught sight of a pair flitting among some furze- 

 bushes. He had never previously seen the bird, but 

 I was satisfied that he was right in his identification 

 — that he was about the last man to make a mistake 

 in such a matter. I may add that this same keen 

 observer is not known to me personally; we corre- 

 spond, and having the same feeling about birds are 



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