BIRDS FROM NORTH WORCESTERSHIRE. 261 



most common of all the three Woodpeckers we get here. No 

 Pheasants are reared in these woods, so Jays and Magpies are 

 allowed to flourish. The Jay is the worst mimic there is, though 

 at times he warbles to himself very quietly. 



Coming to the outskirts of the wood, I saw a Cirl Bunting 

 singing in a little orchard close by. These birds have increased 

 very much the last few years, and breed annually in one or two 

 spots. On the top of an elm a Wryneck was sitting, all huddled 

 up except when he threw his head back and stretched out his 

 neck to utter his curious note. Farther on in the meadows you 

 could hear the Redpolls calling. At this time of year they are 

 very fond of osier-beds to roost in, especially those where a few 

 years ago the trees have been cut down. 



The woods are full of Stock-Doves, Turtle-Doves, and Ring- 

 Doves. In a hedge a Grasshopper Warbler was singing ; they 

 are fairly common in this part of the county, but do not often 

 sing here after the middle of May till the end of June — that is, 

 during incubation. This one was sitting on the top of a thick 

 bush, like a round ball of feathers. I got close to him, but he 

 saw me, and at once every feather was drawn tight to his body, 

 and he became an ordinary bird as the world knows him ; then, 

 climbing down, he hid among the bushes. Waiting for about ten 

 minutes, he presently appeared climbing up the middle of the 

 bush again till he got to the top ; there he sat sunning himself, 

 his feathers swollen out, and his form perfect, as beautiful a 

 creature as you could see. 



To see them in all their beauty birds must be unconscious of 

 your presence ; there is a vast difference between a bird as he is 

 usually seen with his feathers lying flat on his body, and a bird 

 that is really at rest, unconscious of the presence of any human 

 being ; then it is the feathers rise and fall in beautiful order, and 

 form the most perfect outline. At the end of five years, if you 

 live amongst them, you will begin to see their beauty ; at the end 

 of another five you will have learnt how little you knew at the 

 end of the first five. There are some who seem to think there 

 is no more to be learned about British birds as regards their 

 form and habits. This can never be — the subject is endless. 



