62 THE BIRDS OF OUR RAMBLES. 



spring the flocks disband, and in pairs the birds 

 seek out the hedges where they intend to make 

 their nests. In general appearance the Redpole 

 resembles the Linnet, but the much smaller size, 

 dark chin-spot, and double wing-bar, may always 

 prevent confusion. Early in spring the sweet 

 little song of the male is heard from time to time 

 all day long a sweet warbling strain, something 

 like the Linnet's, only nothing near so loud. 

 The expressive and very distinct call-note of the 

 Redpole, as it sits perched upon the hedges and 

 trees, is a long-drawn on-wee, and during flight an 

 oft- repeated twit. The Redpole is a late breeder, 

 its nest seldom being completed before the end 

 of May. It is a snug little home enough wedged 

 in a crotch of some mossy stump, or in a fork of 

 the more slender branches, especially among 

 whitethorns made externally of moss, dry grass, 

 rootlets, perhaps a few fine twigs, and lined with 

 vegetable down and feathers. The eggs are four 

 or five in number, greenish blue in ground colour, 

 spotted with purplish red and gray, and some- 

 times streaked with dark brown. Save when the 

 young are hatched, the old birds do not evince 

 much anxiety for their nest ; but then they often 

 fly round and round, and hop restlessly from 

 spray to spray, all the time uttering their twitter- 

 ing notes. As soon as their young can fly, and 

 the moult is over, the hedges are almost deserted, 

 save as resting-places, and they evince a strong 

 partiality for the open pastures, as we shall see in 

 our ramble over those places. 



The second species whose nest warrants 

 special attention for its remarkable beauty is the 



