no THE BRITISH NATURE BOOK 



to June, but at its best from the end of December to April. Its name of STORM 

 COCK comes from its habit of singing in rough weather. The song consists of a 

 short phrase or two repeated. 



The nest is a rough structure of grass, wool, etc., with an inner cup of mud 

 lined with dry grasses, usually placed in the fork of a tree. Four eggs are the 

 usual number, but I have found five more than once, and even six are re- 

 corded. They are greenish or buff-white, with red-brown and pale purple spots. 

 Generally two broods in the season. 



Thrush, Song. Smaller than the Blackbird, olive-brown above, under parts 

 white tinged with yellowish brown, with black spots except on the flanks, 

 which are streaked. Its song consists of a number of notes, each being repeated 

 several times. The nest is of dried grass and mud, lined with small fragments 

 of rotten wood, etc., laid on a coating of wet mud, making a hard, smooth 

 surface. 



The eggs (four or five) are greenish blue with black spots. 



The bird has two or three broods every season. The song has been syl- 

 labled thus : " Tea, tea, quickly Below, below, below Teete, teete, teete 

 Pretty boy, pretty boy, pretty boy Cup-o'-tea, cup-o'-tea, cup-o'-tea Worry 

 Lill, worry Lill, worry Lill Kiss her now, kiss her now, kiss her now Peep-bo, 

 peep-bo Chee-he-he, chee-he-he." 



Tern, Little (compare notes on COMMON TERN in next group). This is 

 the smallest of the Terns or Sea Swallows, as they are frequently called on 

 account of their resemblance to the swallows (disregarding size and colour). 

 This bird has the black, grey, and white plumage of the others, but is dis- 

 tinguished by its smaller size (only slightly larger than a thrush). It has also 

 a broad white forehead, with a broad black stripe from the beak to the eye, 

 a yellow beak tipped with black, and yellow legs. It is a noisy bird, and from its 

 rapid wing-beats appears to be always in a hurry. Its usual cry is " Kweek," 

 and often " Kweek-tik-tik kweek-tik-tik-a-tik," and as it flies off to sea, 

 in company with its mates, it utters a " Tiri-wiri-tiri-wiri-tiri-wiri." 



The nest is only to be found on sandy or shingly beaches ; it is a shallow 

 depression, either in the sand or amongst stones, and is very occasionally lined 

 with a little vegetation seaweed or grass ; usually there is nothing to distin- 

 guish it from the ground round about. 



The eggs (two or three) are light brown, yellow, or grey stone colour, with 

 spots and blotches of deeper colour ; about the size of a Mistle Thrush's. 



There are other species of terns which are occasional visitors, and in some 

 rare instances breed here. The BLACK TERN (9! inches) appears in small 

 numbers as a bird of passage, on the South Coast. The ROSEATE TERN, 

 distinguished by its black beak and rosy tinted breast, is extremely local, 

 one colony being carefully preserved in Wales. 



Turnstone. The delightful Norfolk name for this bird is the TANGLE 

 PICKER, and the two names indicate the well-known habit of this species of 

 turning over stones, seaweed, driftwood, etc., to search underneath for food 



