ii4 HILLSIDE, ROCK, AND DALE 



which finish with the curious whistle thu-tick, 

 thu-tick-tick. These sprightly, engaging little birds, 

 although they appear as if fighting, do not do each 

 other any damage. Evening is the best time to 

 watch the males at their wooing. Two cocks chase 

 each other round the bushes and along the embank- 

 ment ; sometimes one is the pursuer, then again the 

 other. The hen follows, and as they settle she 

 settles. They seem never to come to blows, or 

 rather pecks, so that it would puzzle one to say 

 how they decide their harmless duel. Perhaps the 

 hen whinchat chooses the best-looking of the rivals, 

 as is the case with some of our gayest birds. Right 

 on until it is nearly dark, is this chasing about 

 kept up without an observer seeing any actual 

 gain on either side. However, the next morning 

 the pair are mated, and then no sign of any rival 

 lover is seen. 



The willow-wren, one of our first spring migrants 

 to arrive, and one of the sleekest and smallest of our 

 warblers, is a desperate little fighter when a hen has 

 to be wooed. When the orchards are tinted pink 

 with blossom, and the air is rich with the perfume of 

 wild flowers, the male willow -wrens fight for the 

 females. The hen always looks on at such a contest, 

 and when one suitor is vanquished she helps the victor 

 to drive him away, doing her utmost to give one good 

 peck if possible. At the height of the contest many 



