THE WOOING OF BIRDS 117 



seventy yards away ; some are already mated, as can 

 be seen by the pairs keeping together. There are a 

 few, however, which have not yet obtained mates, and 

 these are the most interesting. The slightly brighter- 

 coloured males are showing themselves off to the 

 females. Advancing by short runs, they lower their 

 heads, again running forwards, then retreating, while 

 some rise in the air, and with a rushing noise made 

 by their wings something like the " drumming " of 

 a snipe descend to the ground and recommence 

 their wooing. All the time their love-calls are given, 

 which, instead of being like the ordinary call, pee-e- 

 wit, more resembles pi-wife, varied with some other 

 calls, pe-e-e. When the tall trees are casting their 

 long shadows over the land, and the evening star is 

 dimly seen in the pale sky, the birds go off in pairs ; 

 for while we have been watching their antics and 

 evolutions they have chosen their mates, and will in 

 a day or two begin the construction of their slight 

 grass nests. 



We began by watching the pigeons in the wood in 

 the early morning, and we will finish also with the 

 woods. The great red orb of the sun is slowly sink- 

 ing beyond the trees ; everything is still, and a silent 

 peace seems to hover over the whole landscape. 

 Wheresoever we look we see the green tints of 

 returning spring. The air is filled with the glad 

 songs of numberless feathered singers ; every corner 



