142 BIRD NOTES 



bold, inquiring bird hangs on to the sill and 

 stares me full in the face, moving his great head 

 and beak from side to side, a pair of cole tits, 

 three or four pairs of blue tits (O, so fat and so 

 pert and busy!), and sparrows and chaffinches 

 without end ; but the robin ' remains out,' as the 

 Germans say. I cannot get the robins to come 

 and feed with the other birds, though they do 

 watch their opportunity and come sometimes. 

 But they are the tamest of all the birds in the 

 garden, and also I think the most thoroughly 

 musical. I had a duet with one the other day ; it 

 was just above my head in a bay-tree. I sang to 

 it, ' Eobby bob bob bo-o-o-b ! ' and it answered 

 immediately ; then I, then Bob ; and so on, ever 

 so long, till I was tired. The bird evidently 

 enjoyed it, and hopped about looking at me as 

 if it had half a mind to come down upon me. 

 The cole tits are very confiding, gentle, graceful 

 birds ; but they do not seem to take so much 

 notice of one. 



The starling that I mentioned as having a 

 talent for mimicry has been imitating the thrush 

 lately admirably. I was quite puzzled one day to 

 know which it was (for the thrushes have been 

 singing a good deal), and so went to look for it, 

 and watched it for a long time. It was giving its 

 performance evidently with immense satisfaction 



