SONG BIRDS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



and the garden ; it generally retires to thick hedge- 

 rows or other secluded spots to breed in, and is 

 then seldom heard till autumn ; when, on the retire- 

 ment of our summer visitors, he again makes his 

 appearance about our houses, and awakens our 

 former attachment by pouring out his soft liquid 

 carol, perched on some neighbouring shrub. It 

 becomes the companion of the gardener, or faggot- 

 maker in the woods, fluttering around and chirping 

 its slender " pip." But when the cold grows more 

 severe, and thick snow covers the ground, or frost 

 hardens its surface, it approaches our houses, taps 

 at the closed casement, casting sidelong glances 

 indoors, as envious of the warm abode. It is pro- 

 bably attracted to the habitations of man by the 

 shelter that it there obtains from the rigour of the 

 weather, and in search of the insects that are col- 

 lected in great numbers by the same cause. 



The bill of the Redbreast is slender and delicate ; 

 its eyes are large, dark, and expressive, and its 

 aspect mild. It is nearly six inches in length. 



When wild, the Redbreast feeds on all sorts of 

 insects, which are pursued with great skill and 

 agility : sometimes, says Bechstein, this bird is 

 seen fluttering like a butterfly round a leaf on 

 which is a fly ; or if he sees an earthworm, he hops 

 forward, flapping his wings, and seizes it. In 

 autumn he eats different sorts of berries. 



In confinement, by giving him at first some earth 

 or meal-worms, and in the autumn elderberries, he 

 soon gets accustomed to eat anything : he picks up 



