1 84 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



the songs, however, are quite characteristic. The Willow- 

 Wren often reaches the south coast at the end of March, and 

 by the second week in April has spread far north ; the arrival 

 is frequently noted in a succession of waves, when thousands 

 will stream in for days together ; these waves and " rushes " 

 do not lose all their force ev€n in North Wales, Lancashire 

 and Cheshire. For a few days there may be only odd birds 

 about, then one morning the song is heard everywhere. The 

 statement that the males arrive some days before the females 

 and are at first silent may be true of the south coast, but if the 

 weather is suitable the birds sing on arrival, and courtship 

 begins at once in more northern counties. The immigrants 

 quickly spread over woods, lanesides, and gardens in the 

 lowlands, and to the spinneys and even bushes high on the 

 hills. 



The song, though simple, is wonderfully sweet ; Burroughs 

 described it as a "tender, delicious warble" with "a dying 

 fall.''" "It mounts up round and full, then runs down the scale, 

 and expires upon the air in a gentle murmur." By the middle 

 of April in a normal year it is the dominant song in the woods ; 

 its persistence and vehemence rather than its volume swamps 

 the loud lattle of the Chaftinch and the strong notes of the 

 Song-Thrush. Like all songs it varies ; some birds between 

 the snatches give a low Sparrow-like chatter, and in August, 

 after the moult, for the bird often sings in autumn, I have 

 heard it whispered by a bird only a few feet away. The alarm 

 note is a plaintive hweet, and the note of anxiety a double 

 loo-ee. 



The food-call of the young is insistent and often harsh. 

 Small insects are skilfully captured on the wing, but most of 

 the food is daintily picked from the leaves and twigs. Aphids 

 are largely eaten, and beetles, including weevils, whilst the 

 young are often fed on the caterpillars of small moths. Possibly, 

 as is often stated, soft fruit is eaten, but the bird does little 



