108 BIRDS' NESTS. 



joining hedge to finish his melody; so different 

 from the blackbird, which always takes flight 

 with a harsh cry, sounding more like impu- 

 dence than fear ; larks everywhere, high in 

 air, and never seeming to be high enough, 

 waving their wings without ceasing, and all 

 the while chanting their happy ti-ra-li-ra. 

 Wonderful indeed is their strength of lungs ! 

 If a man runs for ten minutes, he pants so 

 violently that he can scarcely speak ; but a lark 

 seems to put his whole strength into his wings, 

 and carols away all the while as composedly 

 as if breathing and singing were equally easy 

 perhaps we should say, as if singing gave him 

 strength instead of exhausting it. A pair of 

 bullfinches were observed to fly along the lane, 

 one a few yards behind the other, easily dis- 

 tinguished by their dipping flight, and by a 

 spot of pure white just above the tail. Then 

 they stopped to watch a chaffinch which was 

 hopping from twig to twig, looking anxiously 

 round, and uttering a pathetic note, very dif- 



