i 7 2 ADVENTURES AMONG BIRDS 



against me, they were regarded as intruders. The 

 cock in possession of the ground would resent their 

 presence and sing defiantly, the other would reply, 

 but was never able to stand against the furious onset 

 which would follow; in every case he was chased 

 ignominiously back to his own ground. The victor 

 would then return to pour out his triumph and 

 challenge to all outsiders. 



The song, albeit so passionate, does not carry far, 

 so that to hear it well the listener must be as near as 

 he can possibly get to the bird. It is short, lasting 

 only a few seconds at each repetition, but when in 

 the singing spirit the little vocalist will sometimes 

 continue the performance for several minutes at a 

 stretch. As to the character of the song, Montagu, 

 who was the first man in England to write about it, 

 said that it resembled the song of the stonechat. 

 That is true, since the little chat's song is composed 

 of a few low and guttural notes interspersed with 

 others bright and clear; but Montagu omitted to 

 say that he spoke only of the chat's song uttered from 

 a perch and not the song the same bird emits when he 

 rises high in the air and, falling and rising, pours out 

 his little rhythmical melody — his better song. But 

 the song, or rather songs, of the stonechat are known 

 to few persons, owing to the fact that this bird is 

 intolerant of the presence of a human being near him. 

 Heard at a considerable distance, the lower notes in 

 the song of the furze-wren are lost, and the sound 

 that reaches the ear might be taken for a stonechat, 

 or linnet, or dunnock, or even a pipit. The white- 



