Those little nimble musicians of the air, that warble forth their curious ditties, with which nature hath furnished them to the shame of art.

Walton praises birdsong as a kind of effortless, natural artistry that outstrips human craft. By calling birds “musicians of the air” and their songs “curious ditties,” he treats nature as a composer whose gifts make human “art” seem humbled—“to the shame of art” meaning that cultivated technique can look inferior beside spontaneous, innate beauty. The line reflects a characteristic early modern pastoral sensibility: the countryside is not merely scenery but a moral and aesthetic teacher. It also fits Walton’s broader habit of blending observation, devotion, and gentle wit, using natural phenomena to suggest modesty about human accomplishments and reverence for creation’s unbought pleasures.