AMONG THE BIRDS IN WINTER, 293 



during the latter part of winter, and many social 

 gatherings disperse. By the end of January, 

 House Sparrows begin to show signs of breeding, 

 visiting their old nesting-places, and becoming 

 very pugnacious and noisy. The earliest nests 

 are almost invariably in holes of buildings, those 

 in the trees not being used until later in the Few s P ar- 



T 1 1 11 M 1 r WS bCgin 



spring. 1 have known, in exceptionally mild p e e s ^|' * 4tl 



winters, fresh eggs of the House Sparrow as early 



as the first week in January (6th January, 1877). 



By the middle of January, Hedge Sparrows are 



nearly all in pairs, and a month later the coveys 



of Partridges begin to disperse for the nesting Partridges 



pair, 1 5th 



season. The Chaffinches are now rapidly as- February. 



r ' Chaffinches 



suming their wedding finery, all the pale margins %*&% 

 which have concealed the showy feathers rapidly 

 abrading. About the same time, the Song 

 Thrushes and the Blue Titmice pair, and the 

 Great Tit begins to utter those notes which are 

 peculiar to the season of courtship and love. By 

 the end of the month the Blackbirds have chosen 

 their mates, and, so far as birds are concerned, 

 the vernal season has commenced. The Wood 

 Lark is another of the very first birds to change 

 its habits at the turn of the year. Having re- 

 mained silent since the autumn, it begins its 

 lovely song early in February, sometimes, in mild 

 weather, during the last few days of January. 

 Few birds are more locally distributed, and every- 

 where it prefers light, sandy districts to those 

 which are heavy and wet. All through the 



