When he does utter a note, which is towards evening or when suddenly alarmed, it is a short shrill “iss,” rather like a pencil being drawn across a slate; his song, which is commenced in March and only carried on during the breeding season, is like his own character, very sweet and unobtrusive, being in fact a low warble, wandering through its inconsecutive measures without any marked phrases or pauses. By early April he will have chosen his mate and the site for his future home, and now and again one may see him having a slight tiff with a neighbour, who may covet his particular nesting-place, but it is nothing serious, for the said neighbour, if defeated, will have his home but a few yards farther on and apparently enjoy possession unmolested. [Illustration: HEDGE ACCENTOR (HEDGE SPARROW) _Accentor modularis_] The nest is a beautiful structure; the foundation is made of twigs and leaves, and the nest itself is of moss, strongly felted together and lined with horsehair; it is perfectly circular in shape and somewhat deep. Here are laid four eggs of a beautiful blue with no spots or blotches to mar the purity of the colour: altogether this little home is in its quiet way one of the most beautiful of our common natural objects; but—“it is only a sparrow,” and the passer-by either destroys it or goes on without a thought for our little friend or the beauty of his home. When his mate begins her tedious business of incubation he attends to her wants with unremitting care, bringing her any delicacies in the shape of insects, flies, and caterpillars he can find. The young at first look like balls of down, and when they open bright orange-coloured mouths they are quickly filled with what is apparently a favourite food—luscious green caterpillars. When they leave the nest the young wear a dull mottled brown plumage, and without more ado take their place in the world around, and lead a quiet unobtrusive life near the home where they were bred, till their end comes by some natural means, or till their career for good is suddenly cut off and they are shot as being “only sparrows”! The sexes are nearly alike, the head, nape, chin, throat, and upper breast are slate grey, rest of the upper parts rufous brown, with darker streaks; flanks brown streaked with darker, belly white. The female is slightly duller. The young are brown, spotted with buff all over. Length 5·5 in.; wing 2·75 in. This is a numerous species throughout our islands. THE ALPINE ACCENTOR Accentor collaris (Scopoli) The Alpine Accentor is an inhabitant of the mountainous regions of Central and Southern Europe, and, like our Hedge Accentor, of very stay-at-home habits, rarely leaving its home until the snow forces it down into the valleys. In England and Wales it has occurred about a dozen times.