16 
BIRDS IN A VILLAGE. 
verdure, and in the neighbouring woods, not once 
did I catch a glimpse of the green woodpecker, 
a beautiful conspicuous bird, supposed to be in- 
creasing in many places in England. Its absence 
from so promising a locality seemed strange. An- 
other species, also said to be increasing in the 
country, the stock-dove, was extremely abundant. 
In the tall beech woods its low, monotonous, 
crooning note was heard all day long from all 
sides. In shady places, where the loud, shrill bird- 
voices are few, this sound is preferable to the 
hoarse song, laboriously produced, of the wood- 
pigeon, being more continuous and soothing, and 
of the nature of a lullaby. It sometimes reminded 
me of the low monotone I have heard from a 
Patagonian mother when singing her swart 
pappoose" to sleep. Still, I would gladly have 
spared many of these woodland crooners for the 
sake of one magpie — that bird of fine feathers and 
a bright mind, which I had not looked on for a 
whole year, and now hoped to see again. But 
he was not there ; and after I had looked for 
myself, some of the natives assured me that no 
magpie had been seen for years in that wood. 
For a time I feared that I was to be just as 
unlucky with regard to the jay. Yet I knew that 
he was there ; every morning when I got up 
to look out of window between four and five 
