THE HEDGE-SPARROW. 115 



And Shakespeare (" Henry IV., Part i. Act. v. sc. i) : 



" And being fed by us, you us'd us so 

 As that ungentle gull, the cuckoo-bird, 

 Useth the sparrow." 



We can well recollect our first discovery of a hedge- 

 sparrow's nest, and the delight it gave. As Wordsworth 

 truly says : 



" Behold, within the leafy shade. 

 Those bright blue eggs together laid ; 

 On me the chance-discovered sight 

 Gleamed like a vision of delight." 



The bird has a very sombre plumage. The bill is dark 



THE HEDGE-SPARROW. 



brown ; the head, nape and sides of the neck bluish-grey, 

 streaked with brown ; back and wings reddish-brown, over- 

 laid with darker streaks of the same colour ; eyes hazel ; 

 chin and throat bluish-grey ; the breast and under-parts of 

 a dusky white ; legs a lightish transparent burnt-sienna 

 colour. The female is a little more spotted than the male 

 on the head. The bird feeds chiefly on insects, cater- 

 pillars, &c., in the summer months. 



If our way lies by commons and heaths we come across 

 a prettily marked bird, the WHINCHAT (Saxicola rubetrd). 

 It is one of our migrants, arriving in this country about 

 the middle of April. You will recognise it by its call-note, 



