64 OUR RARER BIRDS 



mellow days of autumn it wanders to the filbert orchards to 

 prey upon the nuts, and is frequently seen in the beechwoods, 

 where the mast is a never failing attraction. It is not by 

 any means a gregarious bird, although a social one, and in 

 autumn and winter a solitary JSTuthatch frequently attaches 

 itself to a party of Titmice, accompanying them in their end- 

 less rambles through the woods in quest of food. When the 

 frost is severe, and the wintery landscape looks more than 

 usually dreary, an odd Nuthatch often visits the trees near 

 man's habitation, and picks up a meal with far more homely 

 birds. 



It is in w^inter that the actions of the Nuthatch may be 

 studied to best advantage. Then the leafless trees afford it 

 little shelter, and you may stand and watch its erratic move- 

 ments on the trunks and large branches. The sharp wliit of 

 the Nuthatch is one of the few sounds that break the stillness 

 of the wintery woods, and the little bird itself is generally 

 soon met with amongst the trees, even in the midst of snow 

 and frost. Many times have I observed this active little bird 

 creeping fly-like over the bark, its gray and chestnut plumage 

 contrasting strongly with the newly fallen snow. 



There is something about the first heavy fall of snow 

 specially attractive and interesting to the naturalist. The 

 whole landscape bears a strange, novel look ; it is something 

 fresh ; and what is more, bird-life in the snow is an interesting 

 study. Stroll abroad this wintery morning, before the first 

 freshness of the snowstorm has passed away. Note the 

 dreamy quietness which prevails along the hedgerows, almost 

 hidden in places by the drift ; the stillness amongst the trees 

 or by the stream. Nature seems in tranquil repose after the 

 strife and tempest of the previous night, and everything is 

 changed by the sudden transformation of the storm. The 

 broad-leafed laurels and dark yews and hollies bend under 

 their heavy pall of dazzling whiteness. Here and there on 



