572 Birds. 



constitutes the chief attraction of the latter. He is a most consistent leader of the 

 woodland choir throughout the whole season, till his voice is hushed for a time ahout 

 the beginning of July. No bird is so musical ; bad weather affects his vocal powers 

 less than any other bird ; he is our chief songster during the latter snow-storms, and 

 during the equinoctial gales he warbles in some quiet corner. It is true that his voice 

 is almost lost in the rich burst of melody with which our summer birds celebrate their 

 loves ; but some weeks after their arrival, and during sultry weather, when the twilight 

 shade of the woods is more grateful than the greenest field, we note his song for its 

 loneliness. At first his voice is only heard about the middle of the day ; with the ad- 

 vancing season his songs are increased, but at no period is he frequently heard amongst 

 our earliest or latest songsters. In resuming his song for the season, his first attempts 

 generally consist of broken snatches uttered in a very low key, as if the muscles of the 

 Jarynx were unable to perform their part for want of practice, but sooner or later the 

 bird regains his full powers. Their first essays this season are an exception to the ge- 

 neral rule. In February they also resume two characteristic notes ; one resembles 

 " wheet wheet," which is mellow and pleasant to the ear : not so the other, which is 

 harsh and grating, and may perhaps be written " churr-uee" the object of which I have 

 not yet ascertained. The arrival of the pairing-season is announced by the animosity 

 of the males, and their frequent aerial combats and skirmishes amongst the trees ; the 

 former attract most attention, for the opponents mount perpendicularly to the height 

 of twelve or fourteen feet, pecking fiercely at each other, and uttering loud and angry 

 cries. Perhaps the victor pursues the vanquished for a hundred yards or so, and the 

 song of triumph is frequently poured forth on the wing, and this habit is by no means 

 so uncommon as occasional observers are inclined to believe, especially when the male 

 is flitting about his mate or the nest. I have heard the song repeated three or four 

 times during a short flight, and have seen several birds which evidently took much de- 

 light in so doing. When once a mate is wooed and won, the male follows her in an 

 ecstacy of delight, singing in a low inward key, and calling " peep, peep." About the 

 end of April the first nest is built, and is usually composed of the following materials: 

 moss, lichens, grass and pieces of thread, and lined with feathers, wool and hair ; and 

 out of these simple materials a most beautiful fabric is constructed : it is placed in a 

 variety of trees and bushes, the hawthorn hedge is a great favourite, and two wall pear 

 trees in our garden are almost annually tenanted. One of the oldest circumstances 

 that I can recollect about birds is, that a pair of chaffinches annually built their nest 

 in an old pear-tree, till it was cut down five years ago, and also that the nest was usu- 

 ally placed upon a branch overhanging a walk, so low that the whole was often struck 

 by the heads of passengers. When built in wall fruit-trees the following method is 

 pursued ; a quantity of materials is deposited between the branch and the wall, the 

 end of which is laid upon the branch, and this serves for a foundation. Sometimes it 

 is placed amongst the spurs, and at other times it is simply shaded by a few leaves, 

 and when finished, the lining only intervenes between the sitting bird and the wall : 

 a few days are occupied in building the nest, then four or five eggs are deposited, one 

 each day. The female, like most small birds, sits eleven or twelve days, and in as 

 many more the young are fledged. When engaged in constructing their nest, espe- 

 cially when it is in a wood, both birds, by their cries and gestures, seek to entice an 

 intruder from the neighbourhood, by flitting about his path, and after he has removed 

 to a distance, they again return to the place ; this same species of guile is practised by 

 the male while his mate is sitting. The young follow their parents for some days, and 



