164 Among the Birds in Northern Shires. 



time; whilst shooting round the fields is little more 

 effective, for the feathered thieves soon desert the 

 hedge-sides and settle in the centre of the crops, 

 where it is next to impossible to dislodge them, 

 or to alarm them by repeated discharges of the gun. 

 The Sparrow nuisance is philosophically endured by 

 many farmers, and regarded, like the weather, as 

 beyond their control. In some cases we have known 

 farmers absolutely cease growing corn at all because 

 the birds take such a large proportion of the crop! 

 Here the usefulness of the Sparrow-hawk becomes 

 only too apparent, but the keepers shoot that bird 

 down every one they can reach and the Sparrows 

 have things all their own way. 



There are many other birds of the Finch tribe 

 frequenting farm and garden. The Chaffinch, one 

 of the handsomest of all, is also one of the commonest, 

 and his sprightly song is one of the most cheering 

 harbingers of spring the fields can boast. The re- 

 sumption of song by the Chaffinch offers an inter- 

 esting contrast between the habits of individuals of 

 the same species in northern and southern shires 

 respectively. In Yorkshire the music of this bird 

 is seldom or never heard before the first week in 

 March; in Devonshire it is familiar enough in the 

 early days of February, and may sometimes be 

 detected towards the close of January a remarkable 

 instance of the effect of climate upon avine song. 



