GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 33 I 



The Wheatear has deserted the rabbit warren ; 

 the Stonechat and Whinchat have left the furzy 

 common, to make way for the Linnet and the 

 Brambling. In the turnip fields, Thrushes 

 and Meadow Pipits have usurped the place 

 of Whitethroats and Yellow Wagtails ; while 

 in the thick hedgerows and coverts noisy Tits 

 now occupy the boughs which were so lately 

 tenanted by the less attractive but more tuneful 

 Willow Wrens. 



To the reflecting naturalist, this curious 

 change of bird life furnishes a subject for medi- 

 tation in many a day's walk, and is a source of 

 much pleasant occupation. Whether we study 

 the birds themselves in their proper haunts, 

 ascertain the nature of their food and their 

 consequent value to man as a cultivator of the 

 soil ; or inquire into the cause of their migra- 

 tion, and their distribution in other parts of the 

 world, we have at all times an interesting theme 

 to dwell upon. 



From a perusal of the foregoing chapters it 

 will be seen that " our summer migrants " may 



