Hedgerow Life 
most clever nest-builder, not only snaking 
a nest good to look at, but one which 
must be very comfortable, it is so warm 
and soft. But it is a very poor singer. 
The call-note, ‘pink-pink,’ is very 
monotonous, and its song is short and 
not to be compared with that of other 
bird-musicians at this joyful season. 
The blackcap, for instance, has a 
most musical song, almost equal to that 
of the nightingale; but it is no hand 
at making a nest. A very flimsy open 
basket of dry grass, lined with black 
horse-hair, serves to hold its curiously 
coloured eggs. All the birds are now 
singing their best. The home birds, 
which live here always, feel that the 
winter is over, with the cold and the 
frost, and are ready to welcome the 
springtime with their richest and most 
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