1891.  
June 29
(No 4)
Evening walk
England.
Hereford. - crossed by a foot path and after climbing
two stiles found myself in the main road by which
I returned to the town. On the way I saw my 
first British toad. [A] boy had just dragged it
from a hole under a wall and was teasing it
with a stick. It nearly if not wholly lacked
the warts of our species being apparently almost
as smooth-skinned as a frog. It was light
brown in color with a strong pinkish or fleshy
tinge on the back. It was somewhat slimmer &
more agile than our toad.
  In a lane, down which I walked a few
steps, a Chaffinch was in full song in an
oak. I also saw a pair of Spotted Flycatchers
in a narrow alley just behind the cathedral
perched on the peak of a tiled roof one of 
them occasionally alighting on a chimney pot
both actively engaged in bug catching. Their
attitudes and manner of darting out & 
returning to the same place resemble closely
those of our Wood Pewee. They jerk the tail
up slightly at frequent intervals but this
motion is not very conspicuous. They are
pretty birds and very tame & confiding.
  Most of the small birds in England
as far as I have observed are much
shyer than ours. The Spotted Flycatcher
& Robin are exceptions to this rule.
The English Blackbird is an exceedingly
suspicious, wary creature. I actually have
not had a really good view of one yet although
I have seen a hundred or more.