BEDTIME. 327 



conversazione on the saplings before retiring 

 to rest. These birds prefer the hollies, and are 

 very socially inclined, many hundreds roosting 

 within the area of a very few yards. The 

 Chaffinches are more isolated in their tastes, 

 and scatter themselves up and down the cover 

 in yews, hollies, and myrtles indiscriminately, and 

 often roost on the same twigs as Greenfinches. 

 The Greenfinch loves the dense yew bushes 

 better than any other evergreen, and in this 

 respect shows the same partiality as the Bull- 

 finch. Pairs of the latter bird steal silently up at 

 nightfall, and glide softly into the yews. They 

 have been busy all the day travelling up and 

 down the weed-grown hedges, where dock and 

 other seeds are plentiful ; at dusk they draw near 

 to the shrubberies, and we may hear their flute- 

 like call-notes up and down amongst the trees. 

 Companies of Titmice may here and there be 

 seen flitting among the bare and leafless saplings. 

 They, too, are wanderers, roaming the country- 

 side all day in merry parties, seeking the shrub- 

 beries at dusk. Watch closely, and you will see 

 them hop into the laurel and myrtle bushes one 

 by one, quite silent now, and soon asleep. Then 

 the watchful, wary Hawfinches, more like shadows 

 than birds, glide into the yews with one or two 

 clear-sounding good-night notes. 



On every side the notes of birds are heard ; 

 some sonorous and loud, others low and softly- 

 spoken ; many shrill and piercing, a few harsh, 



