1921. BuRKiTT. — Son^ and Nesting of Birds. 115 



therefore appear to be the same males. The young left 

 the normal nests at the middle of May, which would just 

 give the male parents time after feeding the young to be 

 free again for this revival. This new song becomes very 

 strong, but, strange to say, is absent at sunset, which, in 

 the previous two months was far the best time to find song ; 

 it corresponded to the early spring song before mating. 

 By the nth June this rush of song was largely off and the 

 song itself was beginning to be incomplete, and one heard 

 instead the chirps of threes and twos which preceded the 

 spring song. Also this June song I noticed was often made 

 on the ground, which one never saw previously. On June 

 22nd was the last song heard in the country. The birds 

 were more or less flocked by then. There is no evidence 

 at all in this district of the existence of second broods such 

 as the books suggest are normal. 



Now as to hours of song. Up to the end of Februar}^ 

 the song was all in the morning, practically none in the 

 afternoon or evening. During March there is more day 

 song, but by the end of March and beginning of April the 

 certain time to find all singers, including decadent ones, is 

 just before sunset. One could nearly set one's watch by 

 it ; it only lasts for about 10 or 15 minutes. Unlike the 

 Blackbirds, Thrushes, Robins and Wrens, there is never 

 any later song. In regard to early morning the Chaffinches 

 are never in the great dusk chorus of Blackbird and Thrush. 

 They do not start till an hour or more later, that is to say 

 about half an hour after sunrise. The same set of birds 

 are heard at morning as evening. 



In regard to fighting, no animosity was seen between 

 pairs when out of their territory in neutral ground like a 

 fowl yard. I have no note of any actual fighting later 

 than April 7th (at that time all normal pairs would be 

 settled). But where there was a still mateless male he 

 continued to oust from his territory any male looking for 

 food, but not any female doing, the same. I did not, 

 however, see any evident animosity by any male who had 

 a mate and had got as far as a nest, thus giving the 

 impression that he feared no risk of her abduction. When 

 the time of feeding young arrives, the pairs do not appear 



A 2 



