140 Birds like Pear Trees. 



stump of an old fir tree. This bird was watched, but 

 not interfered with ; she came repeatedl}', and was 

 seen on the nest, and the egg observed. Afterwards 

 a cuckoo sang continuous!}' da}- after day on an ash 

 tree close to the garden. 



Lower down in the ivy, behind the logs of timber 

 under the casement, the hedge-sparrow builds every 

 3'ear ; and on the wood itself where the trunks formed 

 a little recess was a robin's nest. The hedge-spar- 

 row, unlike his noisy namesake, is one of the quietest 

 of birds : he slips about in the hedges and bushes all 

 round the garden so quietly and unobtrusively that 

 unless you watch carefull}^ you will not see him. Yet 

 he does not seem shy, and if you sit still will come 

 along the hawthorn within a 3'ard. 



In the thatch — under the eaves of the cellar, which 

 are not more than four feet from the ground and 

 come up to the ivy of the gable — the wren has a 

 nest. Some birds seem always to make their nests 

 in one particular kind of way, and generally in the 

 same kind of tree or bush ; robins, house-sparrows, 

 and starlings, on the other hand, adjust their nests to 

 all sorts of places. 



The window of a room in which I used to sleep 

 overlooked the orchard, and there was a pear tree 

 trained against the wall, some of the boughs of which 

 came up to the window-sill. This pear tree acted as 

 a ladder, up which the birds came. Pear trees are a 

 good deal frequented by many birds ; their rough 

 bark seems to shelter numerous insects. The win- 

 dow was left open all night in the sultry summer 

 weather, and presently a robin began to come in very 

 earl}- in the morning. Encouraged by finding that 



