PAIRING AND EARLY SONG 



379 



GREAT TIT 



conspicuous in February and March, since they are not 



forced to hunt for a new home. Pairing is equally con- 



spicuous in February with the partridges, which are among 



the most sedentary of our birds. Instead of the packs or 



shrunken coveys in which 



partridges are generally 



seen as the winter goes on, 



early in February we see 



them start up from the 



grass and stubble in pairs. 



The time of the first 



pairs varies not only ac- 



cording to the weather 



of the season but to 



some extent with the 



height and climate of the spot. On a ridge of hills the 



partridges may still be living in packs in early February, 



when they are paired in the fields lying below. From the 



wheatfields in the lengthening evening twilight comes the 



call of the cock partridge mounted upon a clod ; and this 



note of spring mingles pleasantly with the song-thrush's 



music, and the spring cry of the great tit in the apple-trees. 



This 'saw-sharpening' cry of the great tit is one of the 

 most typical spring notes, and one of the most distinctive of 

 the many different notes of the titmouse tribe. It is a shrill, 

 rasping double note, repeated with see-saw persistence more 

 and more regularly as spring draws near. It is not seldom 

 heard in January, but begins to be common as pairing- time 

 in February comes on. Bright sunny mornings will draw 

 forth the spring cry of the great tit, as of many other birds, 

 even after frosty nights ; but it is likeliest to be heard in calm 

 mild weather. The great tit calls so boldly that it is not 

 difficult to trace the crude song to the singer, which is easily 



2 c 



