94 



SYLVIAD^. 



been known to us from our infancy as a "Hedge Sparrow," 

 and we decline any innovation : the name is a time- 

 honoured one, and no one will mistake us. Hedge Accen- 

 tor, Hedge Warbler, and Shuffle-wing, are names open to 

 those who prefer them, but we adhere to the old-fasliioned 

 designation of Hedge Sparrow. This bird is a genuine 

 Warbler, and one of the few belonging to the tribe who 

 remain with us all the winter; we should suppose, 

 indeed, that he never wandered far from the place of his 



THE HEDGE SPARROW. 



birth. At all seasons his habits and food appear to be the 

 same. All day long he is sliuffling about on the ground 

 picking up minute atoms, whether seeds or insects, who 

 knows ? Every day, nearly all the year round, he repairs 

 at intervals to the nearest hedge, where he sings a song, 

 soft and gentle like himself ; and every evening, when the 

 Blackbird rings his curfew bell, he fails not to respond with 

 his drowsy " cheep, cheep," as he repairs to the bush he 

 has selected for his night's rest. Very early in spring, 



