SONG BIRDS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



for it. Its notes are, perhaps, the softest of any 

 that have equal volume and compass : they want 

 that clear silvery tone which pierces the ear so 

 much in the song of the Nightingale ; but they are 

 exquisite flute notes ; and the whistling part of the 

 stave, which is almost as full and mellow as that 

 of the Blackbird, has an unbroken swell which is at 

 once characteristic and peculiar. 



Of the inhabitants of our woods (says Buffon) 

 Fauvettes are the most numerous and agreeable. 

 Lively, nimble, always in motion, they seem oc- 

 cupied only with play and pleasure. As their 

 accents express only joy, it is a pretty sight to 

 watch them sporting, pursuing, and enticing each 

 other : their attacks are gentle, and their combats 

 end with a song. 



