246 WITH XATUFiE AND A CAMEliA. 



earl 7 tliat they may be heard loii^- before tlicy 

 can be seen. 



That some birds require very little sleep indeed, 

 appears to be certain ; for I have heard the Nightin- 

 gale, Corncrake, and Peewit at almost every liour 

 of the day — and night, too. Many people have 

 little idea that the first-named bird sings during the 

 day-time, as its notes are all but drowned in 

 the general woodland chorus. 



The Sedge Warbler sleeps amongst nettles, in 

 hedges and thickets ; and if a stone or clod of earth 

 be thrown into the place where it is roosting the 

 bird Avill at once begin to rattle off its song. 



That birds may, upon occasion, mistake the rising 

 of the moon for the coming of another da}- I am fully 

 convinced ; for on the 3rd of June, I8O0, I had 

 unmistakable proof of the fact at Slyfield Manor 

 House, near Cobliam, Surrey. My friend, Mr. 

 Robert Harker, and I retired to rest at midnight, 

 and threw tlie lattice window of our bedroom wide 

 open, in order to listen to the nightingales, which 

 are particularly numerous in that neighbourliood. 

 The moon was just rising, and we were astonished 

 to hear a thrush commence to sing in close 

 proximity to the house. There could be no mis- 

 taking the fact, for wo were botli perfectly familiar 

 with every note of the species, and tlio ])ird con- 

 tinued to sino- for some considerable time. I luive 

 also heard the cuckoo sounding his nanu' lustily 

 wlien it was rpiitc^ dark. 



It is an interesting fact that such l)irds as stay 

 Avitli us all the year round have about eight hours 

 more rest in mid-winter than in niid-smnmer ; but 

 whether they spend a lot of this liiiio awake, or 

 tliat a lowei- tem})eiature conduces to more sleep, 

 it is (litHcult to say. Be this as it nia\', however, 



