CHAPTER III. 

 Birds (continued). 



II. BIRDS ABOUT THE SIZE OF A BLACKBIRD io| INCHES LONG. 

 (Smallest, 8 inches ; largest, I2| inches.) 



Blackbird. One of our most familiar residents. The male is jet-black, with 

 yellow bill and eye-rim. Female is brownish black above, with a rufous 

 tinge in the brown of the under parts. Her bill is brown. The nest is com- 

 posed of dried grass, made into a solid structure with mud ; it is lined with 

 mud, within which is a layer of fine grass. The nest is in bushes, trees, or 

 banks, on the ground, often on a beam in an outhouse, or some other odd site. 



The eggs are bluish green, with spots of reddish brown. . 



The song consists of a series of rich mellow notes, so musical that they may 

 be actually written down on a stave. This should make it easy to distinguish 

 it from that of the Song Thrush, which is always noticed to contain notes and 

 phrases repeated several times, a familiar one being " Duty, duty, duty," 

 or " Pretty boy, pretty boy, pretty boy." The alarm cry, so often heard when 

 the bird flies suddenly out of hedge or copse, is a loud chattering, scolding 

 series of notes, quite unmistakable. 



Corncrake (LANDRAIL). A bird which I remember as much more common in 

 the Midlands when I was a boy than to-day. I have still a memory that belongs 

 to the romance of a boy's summer holiday attached to this bird hearing 

 the harsh, monotonous " crake " for the first time " Kray, kray," or "Crex- 

 crex " ; catching a glimpse of the little bird, not unlike a Partridge, but smaller 

 and slimmer (wedge-shaped like all the Rails) ; and at last it must have been 

 in June finding the nest in some high grass. After that my memory seems 

 to be that it was the one and only nest worth finding that holiday, and was 

 regarded as a treasure most rare. 



As a matter of fact, the bird has decreased in numbers in the South and 

 Midlands, but is fairly common in the North or grass-lands. It is a summer 

 visitor, coming from Central Africa to us towards the end of April. It is 

 distinguished by its chestnut wings and general yellow-buff plumage, as well 

 as by its cry. This can be imitated by rubbing two stones together, or draw- 

 ing a finger nail over a comb. 



If the bird is suddenly disturbed, it will sometimes feign death, like the 



