BIRDS AT THEIR BEST 13 



of cottages all over the land. Nor is it only those 

 who live in cottages that make this mistake ; those 

 who care to look for it will find that it exists in some 

 degree in most minds — the cm^ious delusion that the 

 lustre which we see and admire is in the case, the 

 coil, the substance which may be grasped, and not 

 in the spirit of life which is within and the atmosphere 

 and miracle-working sunlight which are without. 



To return to my own taste and feelings, since in 

 the present chapter I must be allowed to write on 

 Man (myself to wit) and Birds, the other chapters 

 being occupied with the subject of Birds and Man. 

 It has always, or since I can remember, been my 

 ambition and principal delight to see and hear every 

 bird at its best. This is here a comparative term, 

 and simply means an unusually attractive aspect of 

 the bird, or a very much better than the ordinary 

 one. This may result from a fortunate conjunction 

 of circumstances, or may be due to a peculiar 

 harmony between the creature and its surround- 

 ings ; or in some instances, as in that given above 

 of the Dartford warbler, to a rare effect of the sun. 

 In still other cases, motions and antics, rarely seen, 

 singularly graceful, or even grotesque, may give the 

 best impression. After one such impression has 

 been received, another equally excellent may follow 



