326 ANNALS OF BIRD LIFE. 



he pours out his evensong, then drops silently 

 down into the hollies below, where later on we 

 shall hear his rasping cry far into the twilight 

 hour. In the hedgerows round the open fields 

 not a Wren or a Hedge Sparrow gives voice, but 

 here both of these little birds sing right heartily. 

 It is astonishing what a little warmth and shelter 

 w r ill do in the matter of bird music. Birds like 

 comfort just as much as we do ; when they are 

 comfortable, they are happy ; and when they are 

 happy, they express their feelings of joy in song 

 and in calling to each other in a vast variety of 

 tones. 



The gloom of evening is now spreading over 

 the woods and fields ; already the evergreens 

 begin to look black in the shadows, and birds 

 on every side may be seen and heard settling 

 down to rest amongst them. All the hard-billed 

 birds, those that live on seeds and grain, are the 

 first to retire to rest. They come here very early 

 in the evening, and spend much time in twittering 

 to each other, and flitting about the yews and 

 hollies, searching out their sleeping quarters. All 

 day long the beautiful Bramblings, Chaffinches, 

 and Greenfinches have been busy on the neigh- 

 bouring pastures, picking the seeds from the 

 clover fields and stubbles, and the grain from 

 the newly-sown land ; now we see them flitting 

 into the yew bushes, dropping down quickly from 

 the elm and ash trees into the warm and welcome 

 cover. The Bramblings often hold a friendly 



