NATURE'S CAROL SINGERS. 



Stonechat figuring in the little picture 

 which decorates the front cover of this 

 book. He was bringing food to his off- 

 spring in a nest situated amongst some 

 stunted heather growing in a sheltered 

 dell formed by two gorse-clad ridges 

 about eighty feet in height and a hun- 

 dred yards apart. Although many Lin- 

 nets were still roaming the countryside in 

 flocks, numbers were busy love-making 

 and pairing close around me, and I shall 

 never forget the sweetness of the twitter- 

 ing and warbling that went on all day 

 long. 



The carols were generally sung from 

 the topmost spray of some furze bush, 

 which was a golden blaze of bloom, but 

 occasionally the vocalist would utter his 

 sweetest notes when dropping grace- 

 fully through the air to some intended 

 resting-place. 



This bird has received a great deal of 

 attention from the poets, some of whom 

 have described its song as a " careless 

 lay " and others as a 



"None-offending song of quiet prettiness." 



The call note of the species is a shrill 

 twit, twit and wee, tye wee. 



A Linnet's nest is made of small twigs, 

 240 



