74 AUTUMN AND WINTER 



murmur of the threshing-machine a sound more deeply in 

 harmony with autumn stillness than the throb of the old 

 flail, now seldom heard or an occasional faint cry from the 

 distant village, or a dog barking at a farm. Then the still- 

 ness is invaded by the lilt of a party of linnets, or perhaps 

 the still sweeter call-notes of a flock of goldfinches, as they flit 

 into view in loose order with their springing flight. Gold- 

 finches seldom settle close to the earth among the stubble, 

 as linnets do ; while the seeds sought by linnets grow on 

 low weeds, or are strewn on the ground, the goldfinches are 

 hunting for the seeds of thistle and knapweed, and other tall 

 plants, which in stubble-fields are only found by the hedge- 

 rows, or by the side of a raised footpath. The goldfinch is 

 one of the birds which have unmistakably profited by the Wild 

 Birds' Protection Acts ; and the beautiful sight of a flock of 

 goldfinches flitting among the autumn thistle-heads is com- 

 moner in many parts of the country than it was twenty years 

 ago. But the flocks of linnets make the familiar autumn 

 music in the stubble-fields, combining single notes and brief 

 scraps of their true spring song into a gentle melody that 

 harmonises with the deep sunshine and drowsy fields. In 

 sunny weather linnets spend as much time softly singing in 

 the hedges as in feeding ; and sometimes a large flock will 

 burst suddenly forth into a surprising volume of half-articu- 

 late song. 



Skylarks also begin to haunt the stubble-fields in Sep- 

 tember in small parties, though the larger flocks come later 

 in the season, and chiefly consist of foreign birds. They 

 now feed on the seeds of cornfield weeds, like the linnets, 

 and are undoubtedly beneficial ; the destruction of these 

 troublesome seeds must not be forgotten when they are 

 accused of pulling up the young corn later on. Skylarks 

 occasionally sing all through the autumn on fine days ; but 



