THE BIRD WORLD. 
Amongst 
the Birds. 
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faculty for interpreting nature’s music. He 
gives us the hum of bees and other wild melodies 
to perfection. 
There is something individual about the song 
•of each kind of bird. What could be more cheery 
during the winter months than the welcome note 
•of the Robin? What is more pleasant during 
the summer days than the “ che, chee, chee-ah, 
a little bit o’ cheese or no cheese” of the Yellow 
Hammer, or the scolding note of “ Peggy ” 
Whitethroat? 
The Flight of Birds. 
Not less interesting than the songs are the 
•various flights of the birds : the swift, sure pas¬ 
sage of the Kingfisher, the fitful, jerky flight of 
the Wagtail, the steady progress of the Rook, 
the high flight of the Mallard, the clear, circling 
sweep of the Hawk, and the pretended wounded 
flight of the Lapwing or Plover. 
Before I had reached the field containing the 
Plover’s nest shown in one of the accompanying 
photographs the birds came suddenly over the 
hedge and began their palaver, crying mourn¬ 
fully and fluttering their apparently broken 
•wings in unsuccessful efforts to draw my atten¬ 
tion away from the nest. The nearer I ap¬ 
proached the quieter the birds became, and when 
I arrived within a yard of it they ceased their 
discomforting cries and disappeared completely. 
Had this been a Rook’s nest the whole country¬ 
side would have been in a perfect hubbub during 
the photographic operations. 
Wanton Destruction. 
A photograph of a Pheasant’s eggs was 
taken by the roadside, and a keeper who came 
up while I was busy took them away with him 
to put under a hen. He said the birds in such 
positions only brought off chicks under con¬ 
siderable danger from the passers-by. The birds 
would leave the nest to dust themselves on the 
road, and consequently leave traces of their 
whereabouts and run other risks of being dis¬ 
covered. 
Despite the law a great deal of wanton 
destruction still goes on. The keeper said that 
during one Sunday on various parts of his 
estate he had three Pheasants killed and as many 
sets of eggs destroyed. 
The nest photographer also comes in for a fair 
share of suspicion. He has quite recently re¬ 
ceived the designation of “ nest-poker,” which 
in some cases he may merit, but in others 
nothing could be wider of the mark. If he is 
conscientious he will keep his own labours sub¬ 
ordinate to the welfare of the birds, and conduct 
his operations as quietly and privately as pos¬ 
sible, so that he will neither cause distress to 
our feathered architects, nor attract attention 
which might subsequently lead to the destruc¬ 
tion of nests. 
Some Interesting Nests and Eggs. 
Hedge-Sparrow. 
Partridge. Moorhen. 
TheJPartridge lays olive eggs, the Hedge-Sparrow blue ones; those of the Moorhen are speckled. 
