THE FURZE-WREN 173 



about five o'clock in the morning, wlicn tlicy are most 

 excitable and vocal. I would then sonKtimes have two, 

 at times three, pairs about me, flitting hither and thither, 

 vanishing and reappearing, scolding and by-and-by 

 fighting; for any spot in which I stationed myself to 

 observe them would be within the territ(^ry of a par- 

 ticular pair, and when other pairs came in to assist in 

 the demonstration against me, they wTre 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 tlie little vocalist will sometimes continue the per- 

 formance 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 in- 

 terspersed 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 



