THE COMMONER BIRDS OF OUR GARDENS. 



447 



as a rule they fly to their old retreats, but sometimes they will desert 

 them even for years and then return again in augmented numbers." 



Their chief month for singing is in early June, and they migrate in 

 July and August. 



A Rough Classification of Bieds as to Food. 



Insect-eaters. — Swift, swallow, and martins catch flies, gnats, aphides, 

 and moths on the wing in daytime ; nightjar eats beetles and moths flying 

 at dusk ; wren, robin, hedge-sparrow, tits, tree-creeper, and nuthatch eat 

 insects on trees. 



Cuckoo eats hairy caterpillars in fruit trees and sometimes gooseberry 

 sawfly larvae. 



Finches and many small birds eagerly search for caterpillars, especially 

 for their young. 



Grubs in the soil are probed for by many birds with long bills, the 

 lapwing, or green plover, being the most useful ; the gulls, rook and starling 

 eat leather-jackets, wireworms, and other beetles and their grubs ; the song 

 thrush eats leather- jackets (larvae of crane-fly). ' 



The wagtails take insects and small snails from fresh water and 

 marshy land, and follow the plough to pick up insects. 



Birds of prey. — Hawks and owls eat mice, voles, and rats ; the smaller 

 birds, beetles, and grubs. 



Corn and Seed Eaters. — Finches (worst of all, house sparrow, then 

 greenfinch and chaffinch) and buntings, both having short strong conical 

 beaks, eat corn and seed of cultivated and wild plants and seedlings. 

 Rook and starling eat corn and sprouting grain ; lark eats late-sown 

 spring corn ; wood -pigeon eats sown peas, tares, and corn. 



Buds. — Eaten by bullfinch, house sparrow, chaffinch, and greenfinch. 



Fruit. — Eaten by blackbird, missel and song thrush, starling and 

 blue tit. 



Green stuff during winter. — Eaten by wood-pigeon and lark. 

 Worm-eaters. — Robin, blackbird, song and missel thrush, and starling. 

 Snails and slugs. — Thrush, blackbird, plover, rook, corncrake, and 

 partridge. 



Wild Bieds in Relation to the Gaeden. 



Resident all the year round in England : — 



House Sparrow 



Bullfinch 



Chaffinch 



Greenfinch 



Hawfinch 



Goldfinch 



Missel Thrush 



Skylark 



Starling 

 Wood Pigeon * 

 Rook 

 Blue Tit 

 Great Tit 

 Cole Tit 

 Pied Wagtail 



Robin 



Hedge Sparrow 

 Wren 



Tree Creeper 

 Sparrow Hawk 

 Kestrel Hawk 

 Plover 



Tawny Owl 



Woodpeckers 



Gulls 



Jay 



Magpie 



Jackdaw 



Nuthatch 



Yellow Hammer Barn Owl 



Partially Migratory or " Gipsy Migrants" though found in England, during the 

 luhole year : — 



Song Thrush Blackbird Tits Brown Linnet 



* Numerous Continental wood-pigeons come over and these do most harm 



