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About twenty song birds of passage come to us, and rear their young in our island. Of these some are local species, and some but partially and thinly scattered.

These guests of summer remain to enjoy our finest weather, when the warmth of the climate, and the richness of vegetation, and the harmony of nature, invite us abroad. We think that our fair readers might double the pleasure of their walks if they knew each note of their tiny visitants, and distinguished the form and plumage of every feathered songster.

They may perchance, in the lives of these fragile beings, see an epitome of their own destiny!! Gaily and gladly they enter on new scenes in spring: the buds and the blossoms 'surround them; the sounds of joy and happiness are on every side; and the voice of flattery and fondness is sweeter than all! Yet a little while, and they are matrons, bending in solicitude over their infant progeny; full of anxiety and care for lives dearer than their own! A few summer days elapse, and the yellow leaves of autumn begin to wither on the boughs, and the winds sigh mournfully around them, and the nearest and dearest ties are broken; and, as the cloudy shroud of winter approaches, they take their long journey to distant worlds, beyond this dim horizon!

One of the prettiest and most common summer visitants is the WILLOW or YELLOW WREN; an elegant little bird, of a greenish yellow hue, light in form, and active in disposition. The willow wren is often seen among the boughs of the tree whence he takes his name, hunting for insects amid the leaves, or hopping about the pea-rods in the garden, or flitting around the currant bushes: "it has a soft pleasant strain, with considerable pauses between." Being a rather tame species, we recommend it to the observation of beginners.

It arrives with us about the middle of April, and feeds on insects. Mr. Sweet says, he had one so tame as to take flies in a room, and from the hand of its master; and to drink milk from a tea-spoon held towards it! Montagu says the nest is of an oval shape, with a small opening near the top.

The next is the MIDDLE WILLOW WREN, or CHIFF-CHAFF, so named from its note, like chiffchaff, or chit-chat, and sometimes (when the little bird is apparently eager or angry) becomes quicker, and doubles into chiffy-chaffy.

This is a very early bird, and is heard frequently before the trees are in leaf. Its colour is on the back greenish brown, a yellowish streak above and below the eye. These little birds are very active, flying after each other,

and catching flies or gnats: they take the larva of insects from curled leaves and buds. "One that was caught, soon drank milk from a spoon in the hand, often following the person who held it; and, flying to the ceiling, would bring down a fly each time.” *

The next we have seldom met with: it is found and heard in high hollow woods, amid tall trees, and called the WOOD WREN; is distinguished by a yellow throat and cheeks, and a yellow line through the eye. It arrives in April, and leaves us the end of August; and has been called the "shaking bird of the wood," from its shaking note. Montagu states, "It is partial to oak and beech woods, where it may be found by its singular note, which seems to express the word 'twee,' drawn out to some length, and repeated five or six times successively; terminating with the same notes, delivered in a hurried manner, at which time it shakes its wings."+

There are three of our visitants in summer, all rather local species, and all delighting us with their songs, in which they are superior to the rest of their tribe: 1. the NIGHTINGALE, so celebrated in all countries, whose sober plumage of tawny brown would never attract our atten• Sweet's Warblers.

† Montagu's Ornithological Dictionary.

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tion, though his light and elegant form might excite admiration. This delightful songster is not found north of Shrewsbury in the west, or Doncaster in the east; and is seldom seen in Devonshire or Cornwall. "It has been observed, that it is not seen but where cowslips grow plentifully," - indicating a damp cool soil, and probably yielding those insects it delights in. All writers praise the song of this bird. We will only quote the eloquent expressions of an American naturalist, called forth by a songster of the new world:-" When every object around conveys the sensation of joy, and Heaven's abundance is, as it were, showering around us, the grateful heart beats in unison with the varying elevated strains of this bird. We listen to its notes in a kind of ecstasy, as a hymn to the great and most adorable Creator of all. Abject must that heart be, and callous those

feelings, and depraved that taste, which neither the charms of nature, nor the melody of innocence, nor the voice of gratitude or devotion, can reach."*

The GREATER PETTYCHAPS is not very common, and second only to the nightingale as a songster; of light olive brown on the back, and distinguished by a whitish streak from the bill, over the eyes. "Its notes," says Mr. Montagu,

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are sweetly and softly drawn; others quick, lively, loud, and piercing, reaching the distant ear with pleasing harmony, something like the whistle of the blackbird, but in more hurried cadence."+ Mr. White says it is rare in Hampshire, and describes its movements with his characteristic amusing accuracy:-" It is "It active and restless, like the willow wrens, and hops from bough to bough, examining every part for food: it also runs up the stems of the crown imperials, and, putting its head into the bells of those flowers, sips the liquor which stands in the nectarium of each petal."+

The BLACKCAP, or MOCK NIGHTINGALE, is another elegant summer visiter; the coat on his back is of a plain greyish tint; the top of the head black, and in the hen brown. "This bird delights us with its melodious song, which + Ornithological Dictionary.

* Wilson.
History of Selborne.

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