68 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



I began to suspect that he was a very social sort 

 of person, and that it pleased him to have a little 

 chat, but that he liked to have me think that he 

 met me by accident while going about his work. 



One sunny morning as I came past his field he 

 came out bearing a huge bundle of green grass 

 on his head. *'What!" he exclaimed, coming to 

 a stand, "you here to-day? I thought you'd be 

 away to the regatta." 



I said that I knew little about regattas and 

 cared less, that a day spent in watching and listen- 

 ing to the birds gave me more pleasure than all 

 the regattas in the country. "I suppose you can't 

 understand that?" I added. 



He took the big green bundle from his head 

 and set it down, pulled off his old hat to flap the 

 dust out of it, then sucked at his short clay. 

 "Well," he said at length, "some fancies one 

 thing and some another, but we most of us like 

 a regatta." 



During the talk that followed I asked him if 

 he knew the wryneck, and if it ever nested in his 

 orchard. He did not know the bird; had never 

 heard its name nor the other names of snake- 

 bird and cuckoo's mate; and when I had min- 



