. Birds through the year . sts ofa hurried insistent babble of sweet and harsh notes con-fusedly mixed. We hearit poured out among thesedges and willows of thewaterside with an intensityand volume which make itconspicuous in any com-pany. When the sedge-warbler first arrives there islittle trace of an imitativeadmixture in its song; inApril and early May wehave its own bitter-sweetmixture unadulterated. Butas the season goes on itpicks up the commonestcries of the waterside, andwhen the nights grow warmit pours out the characteris-tic notes of day in the dark-ness. The Pink, pink of the chaffi
. Birds through the year . sts ofa hurried insistent babble of sweet and harsh notes con-fusedly mixed. We hearit poured out among thesedges and willows of thewaterside with an intensityand volume which make itconspicuous in any com-pany. When the sedge-warbler first arrives there islittle trace of an imitativeadmixture in its song; inApril and early May wehave its own bitter-sweetmixture unadulterated. Butas the season goes on itpicks up the commonestcries of the waterside, andwhen the nights grow warmit pours out the characteris-tic notes of day in the dark-ness. The Pink, pink of the chaffinch is one of the mostusual foreign elements in the sedge-warblers song, and itseems to have a natural sympathy for the scurrilous bicker-ing and chirping of the sparrows that haunt the streamsidewillows near towns and villages. A less familiar mocking-bird is the wheatear. In April or early May on the downsit is a fascinating sight to see a cock wheatear flitting fromone tussock or juniper stem to another, with wings half. SEDGE-WARBLER THE FULL CHORUS IOI expanded so as to display the conspicuous white patchbeneath their tips, and pouring forth a curious medley ofrepeated phrases with a voice like a weak and imperfectsong-thrushs. The cries of the chaffinch and partridgeand the low twitter of the lark are among the notes whichcan be heard in their song; and there are many otherresemblances, some of which are probably imitations, thoughothers may be merely due to accident or kinship. Thewheatear is a near relative of the thrush, and its generalmethod of song is much like that of the song-thrush. Bothbirds have a varied repertory, butlike to repeat a passage several timesbefore passing on to another. Thewheatear knows the greater numberof phrases, though the thrush is astronger and more brilliant singer. In fine May weather very fewhours of the day and night arequite songless. The last nightingaleusually falls silent a little after midnight; the corncrake has been quiet a littl
Size: 1322px × 1889px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectbirdspi, bookyear1922
