69 
Hedge-Sparrow — The name “sparrow” is here rather a mis- 
nomer, for between the daintiness, shapeliness and colouration of this 
bird and those points of a house-sparrow, very great differences 
indeed exist. Its other name. Hedge Accentor, describes this bird 
more fitly. It is a resident in Britain, is widely distributed and com- 
mon nearly everywhere, though, its colouring being unobtrusive and 
itsbabits retiring, it may not be so much observed as other of its more 
brightly coloured congeners ; indeed it may be that its nest, often 
built before the hedgerows are in leaf, with its four or five 
exijuisite blue eggs, is nearly as familiar to many as the bird 
itself. Its song is very pleasing, a trifle high in pitch perhaps, but 
heard early in spring it is clear and powerful to a degree which is 
surprising if the small size of the songster be considered. In England 
it is in many parts known as the “Shuffle Wing,” this name being 
descriptive of its habit of popping out and in the hedge-rows, with 
its wings drooped and shaking. The colour of the bird at the first 
glance seems to be dull brown, but a more careful inspection 
reveals a dull blue hue pervading breast and shoulder. It 
may be that this bears some relation to the most exquisite colour 
of its eggs. 
Lapwing — The Lapwing, Peewit, or Green Plover, is the bird 
whose eggs under the name of Plover’s eggs, are considered so great 
a delicacy and fetch so high a price, when first procurable, towards 
the end of March. This species is resident in the British Isles 
throughout the year, and is abundant and widely distributed. It 
derives its second name from its call, and at nesting-time the intrusion 
of man, dog, or hooded crow upon its haunts, sends the birds up into the 
air, where they twist and curvet in all directions, shooting upwards, 
turning around, tumbling through the air and giving utterance to this 
cry in a perfect frenzy of indignation. In Scotland in Covenanting 
times, when men were driven for refuge to the hillsides and bleak 
moors, this bird earned for itself the name of “ Devil's fowl,” owing 
to its afore-mentioned habit, which in many cases gave a clue to the 
pursuing dragoons of where a refugee was moving in his endeavour 
to escape. The Lapwing is handsome in plumage, the lower parts 
are white, the tail coverts chestnut, the head, back, and 
wings are of dark green, nearly black, and shining with a lustrous 
iridescence. The head is surmounted with elongated feathers forming 
a crest from which the bird has attained its further name of Crested 
Lapwing. The nest consists ot a slight depression in the ground, 
lined with a few straws, and contains four eggs, pear-shaped, buflF in 
ground-colour, and blotched with black markings. 
Mallard or Wild Duck — The Wild Duck is the bird from which 
our domestic species of duck have been produced ; it is a resident in 
the British Isles, gathering in the winter months in large flocks on our 
estuaries and coasts, when inland waters are frostbound In 
flight the Wild Duck, when once upon the wing, is strong and fast, 
the wing moving very rapidly. The flock invariably progress in a 
“V" shape, thus overcoming more easily the resistance to the 
atmosphere, while the single bird at the point of the “ V,” on whom 
the pressure falls, is replaced at intervals by another of the company. 
The nesting places of the Mallard are varied ; one frequently selected 
is in the heather of the moorland, distant from water, but their nests 
are also found in rushes by the lake side, or even in the disused nest 
of some other biid many feet from the ground in a tree. The 
eggs, ten or twelve in number, are buff-coloured and are cosily 
imbedded in a thick lining of down, which the mother bird pulls from 
her breast. The young leave the nest immediately after hatch- 
ing, and are led by their mother to the nearest water, where they are 
