Or elles in the Ioly tyme of May
Whan that I here the smale foules singe
And that the floures gynne for to springe—
Farwel my studie, as lasting that sesoun![1]
In his vivid descriptions of scenes in spring and summer, the carols of the birds are always a prominent feature. Thus, at the very beginning of his Canterbury Tales, the mere thought of April, with its sweet showers and tender leafage “in every bolt and heath,” recalls to him how the
Smale foules maken melodye
That slepen al the night with open yë.[2]
His poem on The Parlement of Foules represents the various birds of the air coming in a crowded throng from all quarters to choose their mates. As he enumerates our familiar birds he couples with their names epithets that express the popular estimation of them. The scene is laid in a garden where
On every bough the briddes herde I singe
With voys of aungel in hir armonye.[3]