108 BIRDS AND MAN 



sedge-warbler, and others ; in brilliance and purity 

 of sound with the nightingale, blackcap, etc. ; in 

 strength and joyousness with the skylark ; in 

 mellowness with the blackbird; in sprightliness 

 with the goldfinch and chaffinch ; in sweetness 

 with the woodlark, tree-pipit, reed-warbler, the 

 chats and wagtails, and so on to the end of all the 

 qualities which we regard as important. What, 

 then, is the charm of the wood wren's song ? The 

 sound is unlike any other, but that is nothing, 

 since the same can be said of the wryneck and 

 cuckoo and grasshopper warbler. To many persons 

 the wood wren's note is a bird-sound and nothing 

 more, and it may even surprise them to hear it 

 called a song. Indeed, some ornithologists have 

 said that it is not a song, but a call or cry, and it 

 has also been described as " harsh." 



I here recall a lady who sat next to me on the 

 coach that took me from Minehead to Lynton. 

 The lady resided at Lynton, and finding that 

 I was visiting the place for the first time, she 

 proceeded to describe its attractions with fluent 

 enthusiasm. When we arrived at the town, and 

 were moving very slowly into it, my companion 

 turned and examined my face, waiting to hear 

 the expressions of rapturous admiration that would 



