176 ADVENTURES AMONG BIRDS 



world over — all, in fact, that do not sing in a leisurely 

 manner, or, like the throstle and nightingale, with 

 frequent pauses. But chains differ in form ; so with 

 these chains of sound of the rapid singers : in some the 

 links (otherwise, the notes) may be seen and distin- 

 guished as separate parts of the piece. In the furze- 

 wren it is not so ; the excessive rapidity with which the 

 notes are emitted and repeated makes the performance 

 more like a close-woven cord than a chain, and, to 

 continue the metaphor, we may see it as a black or 

 grey cord, set and sparkling with loose thread-ends of 

 silver, gold and scarlet. The black or sombre cord 

 represents the low chiding or buzzing sound, the 

 brilliant threads the bright, shrill and delicate 

 sounds. 



The furze-wren is one of our minor songsters, rank- 

 ing with the stonechat, dunnock, redstart, and lesser 

 whitethroat. Its chief interest is its originality — its 

 unlikeness to that of any other singer. This makes it 

 difficult to describe, since we cannot convey an impres- 

 sion of a bird sound or song except by likening it to 

 other well-known sounds or songs. Our ornithologists, 

 who have written about the bird for the last century 

 and a half, have not attempted to describe its song. 

 I remember that I once asked the late Howard Saunders 

 why this was so, and his reply was that the furze-wren 

 has such a curious little jiggy song that you couldn't 

 describe it. Of course one can describe the song of 

 any unhuman being, from a shrill insect to an angel, 

 but the sad truth of the matter is that the impression 



