NOTES BY THE WAY 



is far inferior as a songster. Indeed, Shakespeare 

 shows his familiarity with nearly all the British 

 birds. 



"The ousel-cock, so black of hue, 



With orange-tawny bill, 

 The throstle with his note so true, 

 The wren with little quill. 



"The finch, the sparrow, and the lark, 



The plain-song cuckoo gray, 

 Whose note full many a man doth mark, 

 And dares not answer nay." 



In " Much Ado about Nothing " we get a glimpse 

 of the lapwing : 



"For look where Beatrice, like a lapwing, runs 

 Close by the ground, to hear our conference." 



The lapwing is a kind of plover, and is very swift 

 of foot. When trying to avoid being seen they 

 run rapidly with depressed heads, or " close by the 

 ground," as the poet puts it. In the same scene, 

 Hero says of Ursula : 



"I know her spirits are as coy and wild 

 As haggards of the rock." 



The haggard falcon is a species of hawk found in 

 North Wales and in Scotland. It breeds on high 

 shelving cliffs and precipitous rocks. Had Shake- 

 speare been an " amateur poacher " in his youth ? 

 187 



