CONTENTS 13 



PAGE 



THE NIGHTJAR 140 



The bird that Gilbert White studied most deeply 

 The churning song Punctuality in beginning the song 

 How the eggs match surroundings The silent moth- 

 like flight Perching habits The mouth as a trap for 

 moths The bird's many names His place in the bird- 

 world. 



LATE SINGERS ........ 145 



THE FLYCATCHER 146 



Our most silent summer birds Where they build 

 How they go fly-fishing Nests and eggs. 



A SWALLOW'S STRANGE NEST ...... 148 



THE HEDGE-SPARROW 149 



His proper name Modest, plaintive birds Their song 

 Nest and eggs. 



THE SLEEP OF BIRDS . 160 



How game-birds roost How ducks sleep floating, like 

 ships at anchor The gander that killed a fox \Vhen the 

 pond is frozen Sentinel guinea-fowl The perching 

 bird's claws Wrens cuddling for warmth How the swal- 

 low puts her young to bed The starlings' good-night 

 chorus Curiosities of sleeping habits Do birds dream ? 



BOLD WHEN NESTING . . . . . . .156 



THE HISTORY OF THE SWALLOWS . . . . .157 



Nest and eggs Tending the young The second brood 

 Attacking the hawk How swallows drink and wash 

 October congregations The decrease of the swallow hosts 

 Changes in swallow history Swallows and sheep 

 Migratory movements. 



CRICKETS ......... 163 



The habits of field-crickets, house-crickets, and mole- 

 crickets Selborne as a favourite haunt How Gilbert 

 White studied the crickets Superstitious ideas of house- 

 crickets The mole-cricket's life history. 



SPARROW-HAWKS . . 168 



Anecdote of the sparrow-hawk's larder How the larder 

 is stocked The persecution of sparrow-hawks Preying 

 habits The Amazonian female Anecdotes of the 

 sparrow-hawk's hunts 



DEPARTING GUESTS 170 



THE VALUE OF EARTHWORMS ...... 172 



How without worms the earth would become cold and 

 sterile How they work and feed How Gilbert White 

 anticipated Darwin The worm as a maker of soil 

 Fifty thousand worms to an acre The oldest plough. 



A TRAGEDY OF THE EAVES . . .176 



