TWO DAYS WITH THE BIRDS OF THE SOMME. 267 



mention for the benefit of others) that a certain showy hotel 

 is to be carefully avoided, and that the ' Tete de Boeuf ' in the 

 town is the best to go to. 



Arriving at four o'clock, we had a walk before dinner, but a 

 very strong and cold wind kept the birds very quiet. In a shel- 

 tered spot, however, we found the Marsh -Warbler (Acrocephalus 

 palustris). There were two, and they seemed to be courting. 

 Both were singing, as we thought ; " one loudly and almost 

 continuously, the other only to a slight extent " (A. H. M.). 

 During thirteen years' experience of this species in England, I 

 have never been able to satisfy myself that the hen utters any- 

 thing more than alarm-notes, though I find the question raised 

 in a diary. Those who wish to study this species without going 

 far will find it tolerably common in the Somme Valley, but it 

 must not be looked for among reeds or very wet places, but in 

 bushes or thickets on tolerably dry ground. What it really 

 loves best, I think, and what it rarely finds in England, is a 

 large space of flat alluvial ground, with convenient bits of cover, 

 such as bunches of tall plants or osiers, scattered here and there. 



Another fact which became obvious during this walk, and 

 was fully confirmed during our stay, was the great abundance of 

 House-Martins, which might almost seem to prefer to remain in 

 France rather than cross the Channel to the land of Sparrows. 

 The Sparrows of Abbeville, I may remark, were both less nume- 

 rous and more cleanly-looking than with us ; some of the cocks 

 looked quite handsome. The House-Martins were certainly the 

 most abundant here of the Hirundinidce. Swifts also were very 

 plentiful, Swallows less so, and of Sand-Martins we only saw a 

 few. We noticed that the Crow tribe, with the exception of the 

 Magpie and the Jackdaws which frequent the towers of the 

 Abbey, was conspicuous by its absence, and it was astonishing 

 to see hardly any Starlings. It may be worth while recording 

 here that, while looking up Froissart's account of the battle 

 of Crecy on my return, I find that " there came flying over 

 both armies a great number of Crows, for fear of a storm which 

 was coming." 



Next day (June 2nd) we took the road across the valley to the 

 west, and got under the shelter of the hills, as the wind was still 

 strong. The road runs at the foot of these hills, with the gardens 



