THE HEDGE ACCENTOR 
will content this homely, unobtrusive little bird, and its 
jerky yet sweet if somewhat short song is almost perennial. 
The male continues in voice right through the year, the 
moulting season excepted, and even in the severest 
weather his cheery song may be heard in sheltered spots. 
The bird rears several broods in the course of the season, 
preparations often being made for the first, in a mild, 
open year, as early as February. In the vent len area its 
favourite nesting- place appears to be a thick hedge or an 
evergreen bush, but it will build in a vast variety of spots, 
and often contents itself with a heap of hedge-clippings 
or pea-sticks in a quiet corner of the garden. ‘The nest is 
a substantial one, cup-shaped, and formed externally of 
moss, dry grass and leaves, and a few slender twigs, 
warmly lined with hair, wool, and feathers. The five or 
S1X eggs are dark turquoise- Shek: The habits of this 
species are somewhat retiring; the bird obtains most of 
its food on the ground, where it shuffles along picking up 
minute trifles here and there, slipping off into the bushes 
if alarmed, and spending most of its time in the conceal- 
ment of its cover. In severe weather it comes with the 
Sparrows to our houses, and is one of the most trustful 
of our feathered visitors. Its food chiefly consists of 
insects, larve, small worms, and a variety of tiny seeds. 
The call-note of this species is a low and plaintive weet. 
It is for the most part solitary, but in the pairing season 
it shows more gregarious tendencies, often congregating 
early in January in small parties. In the country districts 
this species is often selected by the Cuckoo to act as foster- 
parent. 
The Hedge Accentor is one of our plainest birds, 
although there is a chaste beauty in its sombre dress. ‘The 
adult has the head and nape slate-grey streaked with 
brown, the remainder of the upper parts reddish brown 
streaked with dark brown, except the upper tail-coverts, 
which have an olive tinge; the throat and breast are 
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