and summer, particularly in the early morning and about sunset. 

 But it is not in sunshine only that this gentle songster warbles its 

 wild notes ; for often in the midst of the thick rain it takes its 

 stand in some sheltered spot, under the cover of a projecting crag 

 or stone, and for hours perhaps amuses itself with repeating its 

 never-tiring modulations." 



We are all familiar with the Starling, Sturnus vulgaris, with its 

 bustling noisy greedy ways, walking or running instead of hopping, 

 giving little cries or screams and eating at one mouthful enough 

 for a dozen sparrows or twice as many titmice. Seen close the 

 plumage when most brilliant is very striking and handsome, 

 splendidly glossed in different lights with purple, bronze, copper 

 colour, gold and green, but at a little distance the starling, as 

 usually met with in towns, looks dark and sombre and generally 

 very untidy. On our lawns in winter this bird has funny fussy 

 ways, ten or twenty alighting at once to eat the crumbs of bread, 

 and a piece that appears to be about a quarter the size of the bird 

 will be taken quickly into the beaks and swallowed at once. About 

 the end of June, Starlings, being gregarious birds, begin to collect 

 together in flocks of twenty or thirty, and as the season advances 

 each of these is severally added to by recruits from other families, 

 who join them in their flights, and so the original party gather 

 like a snowball until in the end a vast mass is congregated. 



The Blackbird, Merula merula, or Turdus merula is another 

 well-known resident in our towns, numbers of them breeding in 

 the shrubs found in the different public and private gardens. The 

 song is something like that of the Thrush but rather louder, and 

 perhaps with a fuller tone. On the approach of danger the Black- 

 bird utters as do several birds a peculiar note which as indicative 

 of alarm must attract the attention of all who bear it. In our 

 gardens it generally signifies the presence of a cat, often that the 

 cat has caught and killed one blackbird when its mate will continue 

 the screams of alarm for a long time afterwards. His song is said 

 to be a deep contralto warble and pipe with a call of pic, pic, pic. 

 The male is black with a yellow bill, the female brown with a brown 

 bill, they both look very handsome on the snow, but they are much 

 more timid than Starlings. 



The Chaffinch, Fringilla Calebs, is a charming little bird with its 

 clear little note like pink, pink, and its brilliant plumage of brick 

 red and bluish grey. It has a bright sprightly hop, and a busy 

 fussy manner, as though it rather despised the common sparrows 

 that may be picking up crumbs on the same grassy lawn. Like the 

 Blackbird it is seen to the greatest advantage on the snow when the 

 red breast, as bright as a robin's looks more handsome than usual 

 with the contrast of blue, walnut, white, and yellow on the head, 

 back, wings and tail. Although in the town one may see twenty 



