WILD BIRDS THROUGH THE YEAR 139 



country in which it is kept. A year of birds in a 

 moorland district in the West or the North of 

 England differs in many of its dates and incidents 

 from a year of birds in a pasture or arable district 

 in the Midlands or the South, and both differ from 

 a year of birds on the sea coast and among the 

 estuaries and harbours. But there are familiar 

 features in the changing round of bird life through 

 an English year that are common to most districts, 

 such as the coming and going of the swallows and 

 martins and redwings and fieldfares. 



Looking back on a year of birds that is closing, 

 I recall signal features which must have struck 

 many people in the South of England and the Mid- 

 lands. There is that low, rambling song, a kind of 

 talking song of the starling in autumn. A few 

 seasons ago, spending half of each week among the 

 downs, I heard this starling music almost every 

 morning, wet or fine. The best and the most of 

 it might be over before midday, and in all it lasted 

 only about an hour, but it was constant. It is 

 common and constant in many English places. 



People must often be pleasantly deceived by the 

 starlings on a quiet September or October morning 

 rendering some song thrush notes. Not that the 

 starling is a mock thrush, a mere mimic ; he is 

 far better he is of the best singing birds in his 

 wild state. It is in a cage he is degenerate. 



But the most signal feature of autumn bird life 

 must always be the outburst of redbreast song. 

 There seem to be two phases of redbreast song at 



