7 
and summer, particularly in the early morning and about sunset. 
But it is not in sunshine only that this gentle songster warbles its 
wild notes ; for often in the midst of the thick rain it takes its 
stand in some sheltered spot, under the cover of a projecting crag 
or stone, and for hours perhaps amuses itself with repeating its 
never-tiring modulations.” 
We are all familiar with the Starling, Sturnus vulgaris, with its 
bustling noisy greedy ways, walking or running instead of hopping, 
giving little cries or screams and eating at one mouthful enough 
for a dozen sparrows or twice as many titmice. Seen close the 
plumage when most brilliant is very striking and handsome, 
splendidly glossed in different lights with purple, bronze, copper 
colour, gold and green, but at a little distance the starling, as 
usually met with in towns, looks dark and sombre and generally 
very untidy. On our lawns in winter this bird has funny fussy 
ways, ten or twenty alighting at once to eat the crumbs of bread, 
and a piece that appears to be about a quarter the size of the bird 
will be taken quickly into the beaks and swallowed at once. About 
the end of June, Starlings, being gregarious birds, begin to collect 
together in flocks of twenty or thirty, and as the season advances 
each of these is severally added to by recruits from other families, 
who join them in their flights, and so the original party gather 
like a snowball until in the end a vast mass is congregated. 
The Blackbird, Merula merula, or Turdus merula is another 
well-known resident in our towns, numbers of them breeding in 
the shrubs found in the different public and private gardens. The 
song is something like that of the Thrush but rather louder, and 
perhaps with a fuller tone. On the approach of danger the Black- 
bird utters as do several birds a peculiar note which as indicative 
of alarm must attract the attention of all who bear it. In our 
gardens it generally signifies the presence of a cat, often that the 
cat has caught and killed one blackbird when its mate will continue 
the screams of al for a long time afterwards. His song is said 
to be a deep contralto warble and pipe-with a call of pic, pic, pic. 
The male is black with a yellow bill,the female brown with a brown 
bill, they both look very handsome on the snow, but they are much 
more timid than Starlings. 
The Chaffinch, Fringilla celebs, is a charming little bird with its 
clear little note like pink, pink, and its brilliant plumage of brick 
red and bluish grey. It has a bright sprightly hop, and a busy 
fussy manner, as though it rather despised the common sparrows 
that may be picking up crumbs on the same grassy lawn. Like the 
Blackbird it is seen to the greatest advantage on the snow when the 
red breast, as bright as a robin’s looks more handsome than usual 
with the contrast of blue, walnut, white, and yellow on the head, 
back, wings and tail. Although in the town one may see twenty 
