BIRD LIFE IN LEIGH WOODS 



1099 



in the full glory of reawakened spring ! 

 The neighbouring church of St. Mary's 

 is the centre of a fairyland of natural 

 beauty, when the silver birches in thou- 

 sands arc putting on their graceful foliage, 

 and not ex'cn the magic wand of an 

 Oberon or Titania could produce any- 

 thing more charming. What more fitting 

 home could be found for our native song- 

 sters, now joined by a numerous company 

 of warblers from over the seas ? From 

 dawn to sunset the woods resound with 

 their songs. The cheery little Chiffchaff 

 sings unceasingly from the tree-tops, where 

 he is busy searching for insects ; while 

 his cousin, the Willow Wren, is equally 

 active in the same 

 pursuit. Another 

 relation, the Wood 

 Wren, is not far off. 

 These three di- 

 minutive migrants 

 are the very lite and 

 soul of the woods, 

 for they are always 

 busy, always happy, 

 and always singing ; 

 and their hght and 

 graceful movements 

 are fascinating to 

 watch. Being so 

 closely alhed in size 

 and o 1 i V e - g r e e n 

 plumage, they are 

 somewhat difficult 

 to distinguish, ex- 

 cept by an expert 

 observer. The song, 

 however, is distinct 

 in each case. The 

 notes of the Cliiff- 

 chaff form a con- 

 st a n 1 1 y repeated 

 strain of " chiff, 

 chaff, cheep, cheep, 

 chap," the musical 

 tone of which readily 

 distinguishes the 

 song from the me- 

 t alii c " see-saw " 

 notes of the Great 

 Tit. The Willow 

 Wren fully deserves 

 to be known as 

 the " canary of the 

 woods, ' ' its song con- 



sisting of a series of liquid, rippUng notes, 

 chiefly of a descending scale order. To 

 an attentive listener it appears that each 

 bird varies his phrases not a httle, but 

 all have the characteristic tone. A 

 beautiful effect is sometimes heard when 

 several Willow Wrens are in S(jng at the 

 same spot. Each bird will commence its 

 song immediately after a rival, and the 

 rapid succession of their descending 

 strains produces a kind of " chiming " 

 most pleasing to hear. 



The most noticeable feature of the 

 Wood Wren's song is that it begins slowly 

 with a " chit, chit, chit," and only a slight 

 raising of the pitch, and then graduaUy 



TilL VALLLV Ol UIKD LAND, 



