STARLINGS. 209 



c till the visit seems to be but the mere passing call of a few 

 strangers, without a leading object. In March, however, 

 about the first or second week, according to the state of the 

 weather, things begin to assume a more bustling and serious 

 appearance. Hitherto but one or two, or at most three or four, 

 may have dropped in, as if to say, " Here we are ; the winter 

 is past and gone, a happier season is at hand." But now the 

 nights increase, the three and the four are multiplied to fourteen 

 or sixteen, and the song becomes a little chorus, more loud 

 and more joyous than before ; and occasionally, though at first 

 with some circumspection and hesitation, one or two of the 

 boldest will let themselves gently fall from their airy height 

 and glide down upon the lawn, as if to inquire into the state 

 of their future larder ; for they scarcely take time to taste the 

 hidden treasures below the sod, but looking suspiciously about, 

 are on the wing in a moment if an inmate approaches the 

 window, or a door is heard to shut or open. 



About the latter end of the second week, affairs begin to be 

 placed upon a more regular footing ; the parties on or about the 

 battlements and weathercock seem as if they had determined 

 upon a permanent establishment. From early dawn till about 

 ten, there they remain carolling away their communications ; 

 at that hour, however, off they go, and till four or five o'clock 

 are seen no more throughout the greater part of the day ; being 

 absent in the fields, where they may be seen chattering in 

 company with the inhabitants of a neighbouring rookery, or a 

 noisy set of Jackdaws, who have, for time out of mind, been 

 the undisputed tenants of a certain portion of an ancient beech 

 wood at no great distance. 



About the third week, the plot begins to thicken still more. 

 The field, the lawn, and the weathercock are no longer the 

 only objects of interest. Detachments may be now seen prowl- 

 ing busily over the roof, cautiously creeping in and out from 

 under the projecting eaves, and by the end of the month, the 

 regular establishment, amounting to about thirty, has assembled, 

 and the grand work of the year fairly commences. From this 

 time all is bustle; straws and nest- furniture are seen flying 

 through the air in beaks, contriving, nevertheless, to announce 



O 



