60 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



indifference, forgetting, as he progresses, the small 

 scraps of knowledge he acquired by looking sharply 

 during the period of boyhood, when every living 

 creature excited his attention* In Italy, notwith- 

 standing the paucity of bird life, I believe that the 

 peasants know their birds better. The reason of 

 this is not far to seek; every bird, not excepting 

 even the " temple-haunting martlet " and night- 

 ingale and minute golden-crested wren, is regarded 

 only as a possible morsel to give a savour to a dish 

 of polenta, if the shy little flitting thing can only be 

 enticed within touching distance of the limed twigs. 

 Thus they take a very strong interest in, and, in a 

 sense, " love " birds. It is their passion for this 

 kind of flavouring which has drained rural Italy of 

 its songsters, and will in time have the same effect 

 on Argentina, the country in which the withering 

 stream of Italian emigration empties itself* 



VI 



FROM the date of my arrival at the village in May, 

 until I left it early in July, the great annual business 

 of pairing, nest-building, and rearing the young was 

 going on uninterruptedly* The young of some of 

 the earliest breeders were already strong on the wing 



