OF SELBORNE. 173 



motion, bobs up and down like that of a 

 jaded horse. 



Hedge-sparrows have a remarkable flirt 

 with their wings in breeding- time : as soon 

 as frosty mornings come they make a very 

 piping plaintive noise. 



Many birds which become silent about 

 Midsummer reassume their notes again in 

 September; as the thrush, blackbird, wood- 

 lark, willow-wren, &c. ; hence August is by 

 much the most mute month, the Springs 

 Summer, and Autumn through. Are birds 

 induced to sing again because the tempera- 

 ment of Autumn resembles that of Spring ? 



Linnmis ranges plants geographically ; 

 palms inhabit the tropics, grasses the tem- 

 perate zones, and mosses and lichens the 

 polar circles ; no doubt animals may be 

 classed in the same manner with pro- 

 priety. 



House-sparrows build under eaves in the 

 Spring ; as the weather becomes hotter 

 they get out for coolness, and nest in plum- 

 trees and apple-trees. These birds have 

 been known sometimes to build in rooks* 



