The Springfield herald. (Springfield, Baca County, Colo.) 1887-1919, 1910-09-02
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English
Singing Birds

Editor. Copyright. 1910. by Tho quito
Like most Americans interested in
irds and books, l know good deal
bout English birds as they appear in
books. know the lark of Shake
speare and Shelley and the Ettrick
Shepherd; know the nightingale OF
Milton and Keats; know Words
worth's cuckoo: know mavis and
MERLE singing In the merry green wood
of the old ballads; l know Jenny Wren
and Cock Robin of the nursery books.
Therefore ! have always much desired
to hear the birds in real life; and the
opportunity offered last June. AS
could snatch but a few hours from n
very exacting round of pleasures and
duties. it was necessary for me to be
with some companion who could fden-
lily both song and singer. In Sir
Edward Grey, keen lover of outdoor
life in all its phases, and delight
iul companion. who knows the songs
md ways OF English birds as very few
do know them, / found the best pos
sible guide.
We left London on the morning OF
June 0. "a hours before l sailed from
Southampton. Getting off the train at
Basingstoke. we drove to the pretty,
suiling valley of the Itchen. Here
we tramped Tor three or four hours,
then again drove. this time to the edge
OF the New Forest, where We first
took tea at an inn. and then tramped
through the forest to an inn on Its 9TH
er side, 1t Brockenhurst. At the con-
clusion of our walk my companion
made a list of the birds we had seen.
putting an asterisk opposite those
which we had heard sing. There were
Al of the former and 90 of the latter.
as follows:
'Thrush. 'Biackbird. "Lark. sYellow
Hammer, 'Robin. 'Wren, Golden
Crested Wren, eGoldfinch, 'Greenfinch.
Pied Wagtail. Sparrow. 'Dunnock
(Hedge Accentor). Missel Thrush.
Startling. Rook. Jackdaw. *Black Cap.
'Chiff Chat, Wood Warbler, .Tree
Creeper. "Reed Bunting. "Sedge War
bier. Coot. Water Hen. Little Grebe
(Dabchick). Tufted Duck, Wood Pi.
scon. Stock Dove. 'Turtle Dove. Pee
wit. Tit t?Coal TiD. "Cuckoo. sNight-
jar, Swallow. Martin. Swift. Pheasant.
Partridge.
The bird that most impressed me
on my walk was the blackbird. had
already heard nightingales in abun-
dance near Lake Como, and had also
listened to larks, but had never heard
either the blackbird, the song thrush,
or the black cap warbler; and while |
knew all three were good singers,
| did not know what really beau
uful singers they were. Blackbirds
were very abundant, and they played
prominent part in the chorus which we
heard throughout the day on every
hand, though perhaps loudest the fol
lowing morning at dawn. In Its habits
and manners, the blackbird strikingly
resembles our American robin, and in
deed looks exactly like a robin with
yellow bill and coal-black plumage.
1t hops everywhere over the lawns,
Just as our robin does, and it lives IN
nests in the gardens In the same fash
ion. Its song has a general resem-
5lance to that of our robin but many
OF the notes are far more musical,
more like those of our wood thrush.
Indeed there were individuals among
those we heard certain of whose notes
seemed to me almost to equal in point
OF melody the chimes of the wood
thrush; and the highest possible praise
for any song bird is to liken its song
to that of the wood thrush or hermit
thrush. certainly do not think that
the blackbird has received full justice
in the books. | knew that 1t was a
singer, but l really had no idea how
fine singer he was. | suppose one of
hi. troubles has been his name, Just
as with our own cat bird. When he
appears in the ballads as the merle,
bracketed with his cousin, the mayis,
the song thrush, 1t is far easier to rec
tSnize him as the master singer that
he is. 1t is n fine thing for England
TO have such an asset of the country
side, bird so common, SO much in evil
dence, SO fearless. and such really
beautiful singer.
The most musical singer we heard
was the black cap warbler To my
my ear its song seemed more musical
than that of the nightingale. 1t was
astonishingly powerful for SO small a
bird; in volume and continuity it does
not come up to the songs of the
thrushes and of certain other birds,
but in quality, as an isolated bit of
melody, it can hardly be surpassed.
Among the minor singers the robin
was noticeable. We all know this
pretty little bird from tho books. and
was prepared to find him as friendly
and attractive as he proved to be, but
had not realized how well he sang