One bright March day a pretty little bird came back to England. He was a lively little fellow, pale grey on his back, creamy below, with black wings and tail, and white on his forehead. (Any idea so far about what "he" is ?) He sat on a fence, jerking his tail, then darted quickly , with a flash of white ,to perch on a tree, crying all the time "Chik! Chak! Chak!." ( You should know by now ) Soon he made his way to the wide moorlands, and there he found himself a little mate. She was not so gaily dressed as he, but wore browner feathers. ( I wonder how long ago this drippy description was written ) In April they built a nest carefully hidden away in a crevice in a rock. They built it with grass, moss, rabbit fur and feathers. Six pale blue eggs were laid in it. ( That's quite a few more clues for you .... ) When the babies arrived, both parents were busy birds, flashing and darting about catching insects by the beakful, to feed their hungry children. ( So, they're insectivores then) The young ones left the carefully hidden nest as soon as they could flutter and hop. When autumn came they flew away again to a warmer country. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More about that after the music .... That rather twee little passage was from a really ancient book (1950's ?) called Birds of Moorland Hill and Sea, written by Elizabeth Gould and illustrated by Raymond Sheppard.
That's what a lot of bird books were like in those days. Here's the " of its time" cover....
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AuthorThat's the author up there ... I was young and sprightly then. Archives
October 2022
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