122 FEATHERED VISITANTS 



crop of haws along the hedgerows had been 

 consumed, were they able to pick up a 

 living and find what was almost as necessary 

 as food, a roosting-place out of the eye of 

 the wind. The blackthorn brakes, every branch 

 of the holly and the furze, any bush screened 

 by ivy, were all occupied at night by thrushes, 

 mistle-thrushes, blackbirds, linnets, and finches, 

 whilst bevies of larks slept on the ground 

 below. 



Remarkable as was that December for the 

 inrush of common birds, it was scarcely less so 

 for the rarer visitants : a bittern harboured in 

 the reed-bed of the pool, a gaggle of bernicle 

 geese haunted Porthcurnow Cove, five wild 

 swans sought a refuge in the waters of White- 

 sand Bay, whilst quite a number of Dartford 

 warblers and firecrests found sanctuary in the 

 snug brakes of Golden Valley. There was 

 not a sheltered bottom or bay without its 

 feathered guests. On the other hand, not a bird 

 was to be found on the hills : Sancreed Beacon, 

 Caer Bran, Bartinney, were deserted by every 

 living thing save hibernating adder, slow-worm, 

 and newt ; the old toad and the hare were 

 the sole tenants of Chapel Carn Brea. 



Protected by his thick winter coat the hare 

 was able to withstand the nipping frosts that 



