ii2 ANNALS OF BIRD LIFE. 



moths that happen to be passing. The nest is on 

 the ground, a little hollow at the foot of a tree, 

 near the edge of the wood, or amongst the bracken 

 and heath ; the eggs, two in number, are inde- 

 scribably beautiful, white in ground colour, marbled 

 and veined with brown and gray. Another bird, 

 most active at night, is the Landrail ; his loud 

 and monotonous crake-crake sounding through all 

 the hours of darkness. From field to field he 

 Landrails passes, calling all the time ; his voice now sounding 



cease calling, L *-? 



ugust, starthngly clear and distinct, anon faint and 

 remote, as the wary bird speeds quickly through 

 the grass, or the gentle breezes of a summer 

 night bring it towards you or carry it away. At 

 dusk the Barn Owl leaves the church tower, or 

 the ivied ruin, and the Tawny Owl quits his nest 

 in the hollow tree, both bent on capturing the 

 mice and frogs that sport about amongst the 

 herbage. As soon as the hay is carted from the 

 fields, numerous birds appear upon the after- 

 math. Families of Tree Pipits skulk amongst the 

 herbage, the old birds tending their broods ; the 

 first small flocks of Skylarks gather ; and the 

 i 3 th August. Starlings in ever increasing numbers join the 

 Rooks regularly, and feed and fly in their 

 company. The aerial evolutions of the Starlings 

 at this season are very interesting. You may see 

 the birds rise in compact bunches from the grass, 

 starlings old and young together, and wheel and spread out 

 w^f iKoks, and close up again in marvellous regularity, and 



3 rd August. . . . , * . 



with the greatest precision. Another bird which 



