AMONG THE BIRDS IN SPRING. 17 



are the Goatsucker, the Turtle Dove, the Spotted spotted Fly- 

 Flycatcher, and the Swift. From all parts of the arm*, i 5 th 

 cool, shady undergrowth of briar and thorn in the 

 woods and spinneys, the rich, wild song of the 

 Nightingale sounds almost incessantly. What N i g htm- 

 delightful melody indeed escapes from this little , 

 brown-coated chorister music which sounds like 

 bubbling water, so pure and clear that it makes 

 us wish we could by some refrigerating process 

 freeze the song" as it issues forth, and preserve it 

 in all its loveliness until a season when gray skies 

 and bare boughs take the place of warm May 

 sunshine and vernal foliage. But perhaps, after 

 all, the song is best in keeping with summer's 

 birthday, when all Nature is in the first freshness 

 of its youth. The Nightingale is no obtrusive 

 musician he loves the shadiest spots, where the 

 sunlight only penetrates here and there in em- 

 broidered masses on the foliage, and where, when 

 he flies, his red tail flicks conspicuously in the 

 subdued light. High up among the golden-green 

 shimmering leaves of the poplars the Wood Wren 



, ... , 1*1 arrives, aoth 



sings continuously ; whilst among the thickets April, 

 below Blackcaps, Whitethroats, and Garden 

 Warblers hold their matchless concert. Round 

 and round above the trees by the water-side the 

 House Martins and the Swallows glide and circle 

 and turn in quest of their insect prey, now and 

 then darting down to the water, and skimming 

 just above its glassy surface under the sweeping 

 branches. The Hedge Sparrow's song sounds 



