356 



AUTUMN AND WINTER 



recognisable with its black crown, dark stripe down a vivid 

 yellow-green breast, and the conspicuous white cheek- 

 patches which have given it its name of oxeye, much as the 

 large moon-daisy is called the oxeye daisy. A little later 



than the great tit, 

 the blue tit also 

 begins its spring 

 song. This is more 

 musical than other 

 notes uttered by 

 this tribe of birds ; 

 tits' notes have 

 generally a twang- 

 ing or metallic ring 

 which makes them 

 easily attributable 

 to one species of 



GREAT TIT the tribe > ^OUgh 



their variety makes 

 it often hard to identify them more particularly without 

 careful observation. The blue tit's spring song consists of 

 two or three plaintive calls followed by a tinkling peal — 

 much like a small silver bell sharply pulled and echoing 

 out its peal. This song is constantly uttered by the cock 

 bird as it hunts among the twigs in acrobatic attitudes, often 

 with its mate in attendance. 



Missel-thrushes are sometimes heard singing as early as 

 December ; but their free song is usually first heard from 

 some lofty bough on a morning or evening in February, 

 when there is a noticeable increase in the light as compared 

 with the short dark days. It is more like the blackbird's 

 and ring-ousel's song than that of the song-thrush ; and it is 

 often mistaken for the blackbird's when heard early in the 



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