GARDEN AND ORCHARD BIRD-LIFE. 51 



various grounds. His plaintive song, especially 

 in autumn, when the last lingering leaves chase 

 each other through the calm damp air, and the 

 ground everywhere is strewn with the ruins of 

 summer foliage, breathes hope and gladness over 

 the fall of summer and ever seems to voice the 

 prophecy of spring. The Hedge Accentor is 

 equally widely distributed, and few indeed are 

 the spots containing sufficient cover that do 

 not harbour one or more. The same may be 

 said of the Wren, another perennial songster. 

 His glad carol may be often overlooked amongst 

 the vocal abundance of spring and early summer, 

 but in autumn and winter it stands clearly out, 

 and is then particularly welcome and enjoyable. 

 There are two other species that briefly call for 

 passing mention. One of these is the Stonechat, 

 a bird we have already met among the gorse, 

 and which is occasionally seen in some of the 

 wilder corners of the many pleasure-grounds. 

 Only the other day we observed a pair of these 

 birds on the wooded cliffs above the Terrace 

 Gardens, but whether they breed there or not 

 is difficult to determine. The other species is 

 the Spotted Flycatcher. We could name various 



