302 Wild Life in a Southern County. 
familiar notes of the thrush. The note rang out clear 
and high, and somehow sounded strangely unfamiliar 
among English meadows and English oaks. 
Then, looking farther and watching about the 
hedges there, I soon found that the bird was not 
alone—there were three or four pairs of redwings in’ 
close neighbourhood, all evidently bent upon remain- 
ing to breed. To make quite sure,I shot one. After- 
wards I found a nest, and had the pleasure of seeing 
the young birds come to maturity and fly. 
Nothing could be more thoroughly opposed to the 
usual habits of the bird. There may be other instances 
recorded, but what one sees oneself leaves so much 
deeper an impression. The summer that followed 
was a very fine one. It is instances like this that. 
make one hesitate to dogmatise too much as to the 
why and wherefore of bird-ways. Yet it is just the 
speculation as to that why and wherefore which in- 
creases the pleasure of observing them. 
Then there is the corn-crake, of whose curious 
tricks in the mowing grass I have already written. 
The crake’s rules of migration are not easily reconciled 
with any theory I have ever heard of. In the par- 
ticular locality which has been described the crakes 
come early, they enter the mowing grass and remain. 
there till after it is cut ; immediately afterwards they 
are heard in the corn. Presently they are silent and 
supposed to be gone ; but I have heard of their being 
shot in the opening of the shooting season on the 
