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retiring here. On the continent birds may be seen singing
from telegraph wires!
The habitat itself was invariably dense and no bird ever
sang from traditional hazel coppice or any area deeply
shadowed by overhanging trees. We found that favoured
sites were always in dense scrub, impenetrable margins
to woods or, best of all, in old, species-rich areas that
had been allowed to grow up unchecked for 5-10 years to
form more of a maquis than woodland. No wonder, therefore,