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to go to some of these places early in May, especially Kingmoor, 

 as it is nearest to hand, to hear for themselves the sad call-note of 

 this bird. 



The Tree Pipit. 



If you take a walk in the country about the 1 6th of April, you 

 are sure to observe a bird, which, from its song, and the manner 

 in which that song is given, will be sure to attract your attention. 

 I mean the Tree Pipit {Atithus arboreus). This bird is found in 

 Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Italy, Switzerland, Madiera, 

 and also in Asia and Japan. It winters, I believe, in Africa. In 

 the counties of Cumberland and Westmorland it is plentiful. It 

 resorts to the borders of woods, as well as to orchards, and hedge- 

 rows where elm or other trees are planted at intervals ; and it is 

 especially found in cultivated and arable districts. On their 

 arrival, the males (which precede the females by a week or ten 

 days) repair to their respective situations and commence their 

 songs of invitation. These strains are often uttered from the 

 topmost twig of some tree where the bird is perched, but I notice 

 that he does not give the full song there, but only when he is on 

 the wing. What a pleasure it is to see him rise up with a simple 

 twitter, and shoot up Hke a sky-rocket till he has attained a height 

 of forty or fifty feet, and then, poising himself like a Kestrel for a 

 few moments, he will, with motionless extended wings, and erect 

 and expanded tail, descend either to the ground or to the twig he 

 started from, sometimes in a semi-circle to some other tree a little 

 way off, uttering all the time his twee twee twee, twe twee twee-e-e. 

 He is a joyous bird, and will continue his song and aerial flights 

 all day long, especially in the month of May. I have seen it 

 perform the same evolution twenty times in half an hour. If you 

 are in a good locality, you may see half-a-dozen of them ascending, 

 descending, and singing within a short distance of each other. 

 The telegraph wires are also a favourite resort, along the railway 

 embankments. About the middle of July the Tree Pipit is silent 

 as far as his song is concerned, and he only utters a soft call-note, 

 a simple "pit-pit;" he is seldom seen in the trees at this time, and 



