( 8i ) 



NATURE ON THE ROOF, 



Increased activity on the housetop marks the approach 

 of spring and summer exactly as in the woods and 

 hedges, for the roof has its migrants, its semi- 

 migrants, and its residents. When the first dandelion 

 is opening on a sheltered bank, and the pale-blue 

 field veronica flowers in the waste corner, the whistle 

 of the starling comes from his favourite ledge. Day 

 by day it is heard more and more, till, when the 

 first green spray appears on the hawthorn, he visits 

 the roof continually. Besides the roof-tree and the 

 chimney-pot, he has his own special place, sometimes 

 under an eave, sometimes between two gables ; and 

 as I sit writing, I can see a pair who have a ledge 

 which slightly projects from the wall between the 

 eave and the highest window. This was made by 

 the builder for an ornament ; but my two starlings 

 consider it their own particular possession. They 

 alight with a sort of half-scream half-whistle just 

 over the window, flap their wings, and whistle again, 

 run along the ledge to a spot where there is a gable, 

 and with another note, rise up and enter an aperture 

 between the slates and the wall. There their nest 

 will be in a little time, and busy indeed they will 



