82 OUR NATIVE SONGSTERS. 



notes are not so sweet as those of the last-named 

 bird, but are more like the chirpings of the merry 

 grasshopper. First the strain commences with the 

 sounds .of " twee, twee, twee," oft repeated, and 

 sounded very long ; then follow the same sounds, 

 uttered -with great rapidity, and accompanied by 

 a vibration of its wings. This songis usually sung 

 from the summit of some old oak or beech, for it 

 is in old woods, where the trees are thick and 

 high, that this bird chiefly delights to dwell. It 

 arrives in England at about the end of April, and 

 leaves us in September; and it may be heard 

 singing its shrill song almost all the summer, 

 sometimes uttering it on the wing. Unlike most 

 of our singing birds, it does not moult in autumn, 

 but remains in its old plumage, and migrates 

 without resigning its plumes. 



This bird is very skilful in catching insects, 

 either while on the wing, or when searching for 

 them diligently in the crevices of the bark, or 

 among the foliage of trees. It conceals its domed 

 nest so cleverly, as that only an experienced bird- 

 nester will find it out ; but it may be distinguished 

 from the very similar nests of the allied species, 

 by the absence of feathers on the inside, it being 



