68 WITH THE WOODLANDERS. 



hedge, which is about three hundred yards in length. 

 Robins of course are there also. 



Food and shelter are the two chief objects of all 

 insect feeders. As the lush wild growth that hides 

 their nests forms the food-supply and also the shelter 

 for their insect prey, all goes well. Some places 

 are avoided by migrants, because the sour ground 

 there will not allow plant-life to flourish properly. 

 One can tell by the soil that the banks and sides 

 of the hedges are composed of, what birds will be 

 found there in the season. The nightingale, for 

 instance, is very fastidious about locality. I have 

 seen the nests of all the birds above mentioned, 

 both with their eggs and their young. The study 

 of hedgerow life is a most pleasing one, for other 

 creatures besides birds live in and about hedges. 

 It is very remarkable, but about breeding-time the 

 young ones very rarely come to grief through crea- 

 tures of prey. If you are fortunate, or I will say 

 patient enough to find their nests, you will see the 

 full complement of eggs or of young birds. This 

 may be because these birds build as a rule round 

 the outskirts of game covers where predatory crea- 

 tures are killed off. 



