CHAPTER IV. 



THE WAYS OF BIRDS. 



To enjoy thoroughly the pleasures of the woods 

 and fields, you must take all their wild inhabitants 

 into your confidence, help them in their little 

 trials, partake of their sorrows, and share their 

 sympathies and joys. Most of us have some pet 

 hobby which we are apt to mount and ride, when, 

 perchance, the troubles and annoyances of life 

 press unusually heavy upon us. Mine is Orni- 

 thology. From boyhood's very earliest days, the 

 birds have never failed to furnish me with a 

 constant round of enjoyment ; to my feathered 

 friends I owe a very great proportion of the 

 pleasures I have hitherto experienced. I delight 

 in bird company, and love to watch their ways 

 and movements year by year, looking upon my 

 favourites as very old and dear friends indeed. 

 The various species of birds have each their own 

 little ways, which you get to know and understand, 

 and which make your rambles in their haunts 

 assume unwonted interest. You may claim all the 

 wild birds as your very own. No need to cage or 



