We did not mean to say much about the singing of our winged choristers; for July is not a singing month. It would be hardly fair, however, having alluded to the perennial strains of the robin and the wren, to forget a gentle, unobtrusive little creature, a regular inhabitant of our lanes, whose soft, rich voice maybe heard almost any time in the year. The dunnock, or hedge-sparrow, has a very tender song, and, though the notes are low and subdued, and but slightly varied, they are exquisitely mellow and plaintive, and always pleasant to listen to. The dunnock is generally known as the hedge-sparrow, but it is not really a sparrow at all. It bears, perhaps, some resemblance to the town bird, its plumage being reddish-brown on the upper parts, and pale grey oil the lower; but it is smaller and slighter, and lacks the white bars in the wings and the black bib, so noticeable in the male house-sparrow; nor is it gregarious, like our plump little town friend. "Shufflewing" is another name by which it is known in some parts of the country, from it peculiar shake of the wing, both when singing and when on the ground searching for food.
Source: The Illustrated London News, July 8, 1882, p.47