THE BIRDS OF THE GREEN LANES. 129 



a darker and duller hue in winter then obtains for 

 it the name of " black plover." 



The woods and hedges of our lanes are, however, 

 the hiding and nesting places of most of our common 

 British birds. Along the " backings," as they are 

 termed in Lancashire, you have the artistically 

 woven nests of the Whitethroat, Blackcap-Warbler, 

 Kobin, &c. The nests are always highly finished 

 by those birds possessing slender delicate feet 

 and beaks. You cannot expect such a result from 

 aquatic birds, for their webbed feet and broad beaks 

 are not the proper tools with which to make a highly 

 finished nest. Hence the latter is generally charac- 

 teristic only of such birds as the water-wagtail, 

 redpole, blackcap, &c. Another fact we may draw 

 attention to here, as it is connected with our 

 songsters. As a rule, the young of the latter, when 

 hatched, are in a very helpless condition. They are, 

 in consequence, exposed to additional dangers. 

 Compare this state with the perfect condition in 

 which young chicks and ducks emerge from the egg. 

 The contrast is as decided as it is possible for it to 

 be. May not the time necessary for young songsters 

 to develop their plumage have a relation to their 

 habits of singing ? They have a chance of learning 

 at that time, for the parent birds, especially the 

 males, pipe to them. And Mr. Wallace has shown 

 that young birds neither build nests so well nor 

 sing as well, as those of two summers proving that 

 they are capable of being taught by experience. It 



