VOICES OF BIRDS. 269 



nest is formed ; few of our birds bringing up more 

 than one brood in the season. The redbreast, 

 blackbird, and thrush, in mild winters, may con- 

 tinually be heard, and form exceptions to the general 

 procedure of our British birds ; and we- have one 

 little bird, the woodlark (alauda arborea), that in 

 the early parts of the autumnal months delights us 

 with its harmony, and its carols may be heard in 

 the air commonly during the calm sunny mornings 

 of this season. They have a softness and quiet- 

 ness, perfectly in unison with the sober, almost me- 

 lancholy, stillness of the hour. The skylark also 

 sings now, and its song is very sweet, full of har- 

 mony, cheerful as the blue sky and gladdening 

 beam in which it circles and sports, and known and 

 admired by all ; but the voice of the woodlark is 

 local, not so generally heard, from its softness must 

 almost be listened for, to be distinguished, and has 

 not any pretensions to the hilarity of the former. 

 This little bird sings likewise in the spring ; but, at 

 that season, the contending songsters of the grove, 

 and the variety of sound proceeding from every 

 thing thatjias utterance, confuse and almost render 

 inaudible the placid voice of the woodlark. It de- 

 lights to fix its residence near little groves and 

 copses, or quiet pastures, and is a very unobtrusive 

 bird, not uniting in companies, but associating in 

 its own little family parties only, feeding in the 

 woodlands on seeds and insects. Upon the ap- 



