The Irish Natnralisi. 



January, 



not notice which sex did it. Both parents feed the young, 

 but I think the male does it less. 



In the case of the Willow Wren the first strong well 

 advertised song gets low and less frequent very shortly 

 after a mate arrives. With many males it may cease 

 altogether, and not a note be heard till the brood is hatched. 

 Both parents feed the young, the male doing it much less. 

 He may at that time sing at intervals but the song soon 

 stops. It is nearly safe to say that all W^illow Wrens singing 

 on loudly and steadily are mateless. In my article of 

 September, 1919 {supra), I gave examples of such birds 

 remaining even up to twelve weeks mateless. 



As to the Lesser Redpoll, my observations were on the 

 trill and not on the alleged early song. I confess unacquain- 

 tance with the latter, and therefore, perhaps, the trill 

 should not stand with these other songs. It belongs more 

 properly to that large class of notes which imply the 

 accompanying presence of the mate or family, for it seems 

 to be almost entirely made in his flights with the female. 

 I have not heard it when she was sitting. He is a very 

 faithful mate, accompanying her on her flights for building 

 material and again when she goes for food for the ^^oung, 

 trilling all the way. i\nd again he does the same when 

 the young are fledged and being fed up in high tree-tops. 

 The trill is thus heard on even towards the end of July. 

 The high course of flight and the big circles taken by this 

 small bird make it very difficult to locate, though heard 

 all about you. I have not seen the male feeding the young. 



In the case of the Chaffinch it would be rather daring 

 to suggest rules about such a well-known bird, from the 

 study of only a few cases. But in those few the male 

 certainly stopped singing when the female began to sit, 

 and did not sing again till that brood was done with. 

 Many of these birds, probably yearhngs, plainly remain 

 unmated till well on in the season and thus provide a fairly 

 steady volume of song. But I have noticed a distinct 

 period of little or no song such as would be accounted for 

 by the gap between the main run of first and second broods. 

 Both parents feed the young. 



