130 THE STRANGE EGG IN THE NEST. 



His note has no music in it, and yet it always 

 gladdens the ear. Like the note of the Cuckoo 

 in England, it is associated with the bright days 

 of spring, and the opening flowers. 



In the middle of the summer his song partly 

 ceases, In the autumn he gives a few notes 

 by way of farewell, and then retreats before the 

 winter. 



The Peewit wears a loose crest on his head, 

 and his wings and tail are of a dusky hue. The 

 lower part of his body is of a pale yellow,- and 

 his legs and bill are black. 



He has a neighbour, called the Wood Peewit, 

 that lives in the gloomy shades of the woods, 

 and chooses some spot where the trees are de- 

 caying, and great dead branches shoot across 

 the path. 



He is a very clever Fly-catcher. He sits on 

 the high dead bough of some tree, uttering a 

 plaintive note. Now and then he gives a dart 

 or sweep after some insect that happens to come 

 near. 



Though lie loves the forest, he will often ven- 



