72 BIRD LIFE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR 



artiste, and in the spring choir there are of course 

 voices of less compass and of more limited powers. 

 The Hedge Sparrow's song always seems the same, 

 whether heard as the sun breaks through on a misty 

 autumn morning, setting the dew-drops sparkling on 

 every furze-bush, or when the snowy hawthorns tell 

 of spring in its prime. The Wren, too, whose sudden 

 burst of song seems too loud for so small a throat, 

 favours us to the same performance, his sole instrument 

 the clarionet, right through the year. The Tree 

 Creeper, which climbs mouse-like up the trunks and 

 round the branches of the oaks, is no bigger than the 

 wren ; how many know its short but joyous contri- 

 bution of song, which may be heard all day long in 

 bright weather early in the year ? Another song 

 which must be listened for is that of the Goldcrest, a 

 small voice as befits its author of the golden coronet, 

 tiniest of British birds. Yet, when recognized, it may 

 be heard persistently in March coming from the firs 

 or the larch plantation. Has the Bullfinch a true 

 song ? If so, the writer has never heard it except 

 once from a bird in captivity, and in this case the notes 

 may have been acquired. 



Another element in bird song is imitation. This is 

 sometimes evident in the case of the Thrush, which 

 will pick up familiar farm-yard sounds, such as the 

 clucking of a hen. The story is well known how, in 

 the neighbourhood of one of the old monasteries, the 



