A PAIR MADE A CURIOUS MISTAKE 7 
the spring and summer, surely foretell the 
coming winter, when we rejoice to feed him 
on the window sill with crumbs from the 
table. 
He is a pretty bird and has a sweet song, 
so plaintive at times (especially at the close 
of the year when the leaves first fall, and at 
the evening hour), as to powerfully affect a 
sensitive mind. The bird is very fond of 
uttering a little sharp note, best spelt ‘ chit,’ 
{ think. It can be imitated if a penny be 
held horizontally between the left fore-finger 
and thumb, and struck sharply with the edge 
of another penny. Often, and on autumn 
days especially, you will hear this sound in 
your garden. You will find the bird alone. 
He will very probably flutter up to a bush 
near by when you have found him, and change 
Hisvilete to one of recognition, it seems— 
which is a twitter—with frequent flutterings 
of his wings and cocking of his tail. He is 
1 It has been asserted that these twitterings come 
from young birds that have not yet learnt to sing 
properly. 
