CHIEF CHAFF. 127 



and 1844, and not till the 15th. in 1847; a year in which 

 the vernal migrants were very late in making their appear- 

 ance. One was heard on the 8th. of September. 



In the spring these birds keep for the most part in the 

 same haunt. They are lively, active, and restless in their 

 movements, often frequenting trees of lofty growth, especially 

 in situations where they are surrounded with tangled vege- 

 tation. They display much anxiety for the safety of their 

 young; if the latter be taken out of the nest, it is said that 

 the old birds will hover about, and even come and stand 

 beside and flutter around them. They are easily captured, 

 and soon become tame in confinement. Mr. Sweet mentions 

 one which used to perch on the hand without shewing the 

 least symptom of fear, and also would fly up to the ceiling, 

 and bring down a fly in its beak every time. 



Their food consists of small caterpillars, aphides, small 

 moths, and flies; and the latter they sometimes catch on the 

 wing: the young are fed with caterpillars, flies, and other 

 insects. 



The song, frequently heard overhead from the upper part 

 of some tall tree, and on one occasion so early as the 5th. 

 of February, is melodious and varied. The ordinary bitone 

 note is a mere 'cheep, cheep, cheep, chee,' likened by some to 

 the syllables 'chiff-chaff,' whence the name, and a 'chiff, cheff, 

 chaff,' almost a 'vox et praterea nihil,' but it comes from 

 the tops of the trees with a ringing sound, reminding one of 

 the faint chime of the distant village church bell; it is con- 

 tinued even till late in September. The alarm cry Meyer 

 represents by the word 'hoo-id;' the note is also frequently 

 repeated on the wing. 



The nest, which is arched over, is skilfully constructed of 

 various indiscriminate materials, according to the situation it 

 is placed in, fern, moss, leaves, grasses, the bark of the birch 

 tree, the shells of chrysalides, wool, and the down of flowers, 

 with sometimes feathers and a few hairs for lining for the 

 whole of the interior; it is arched over more than half-way, 

 the other portion of the upper half being left open by the 

 side; if the roofing be removed, even three or four times, the 

 patient little architect will renew it. It is placed on the 

 ground, generally, but not always, in the immediate neigh- 

 bourhood of trees, or on a hedge bank, or near a brook, or 

 on the moss-clad stump of a tree, beneath the shelter of the 

 trailing boughs of some bramble, furze, or other bush, or clod 



