346 



INDEX 



287, 289, 290, 292, 293, 294 ; 

 a retarding influence, 222 ; in 

 man, may be reversion to more 

 primitive method of intercom- 

 munion, 223 ; may be, in some 

 ways, superior to speech 



Thrush, Song of, how differing from 

 the nightingale's, 312; mistaken 

 for the nightingale's, 313, 314 ; 

 effect of if heard at night, 314 



Tit, Blue, at straw-stack in winter, 

 199, 202 ; acts like tree-creeper, 

 236, 237, 238, 239. Ascends 

 trunk perpendicularly, 237 ; sug- 

 gested explanation of this, 242, 

 243. Descends trunk head down- 

 wards assisted by wings, 237, 

 238, 245 ; suggested explanation, 

 245. His hardiness, 247, 248 ; 

 eats buds rather than insects in 

 them, 248, 249 ; attacked by 

 bullfinch, 250 ; feeds on catkins 

 of alder or insects in them, 251, 

 253 ; his tiring-room and banquet- 

 ing-hall, 253 ; drive each other 

 from catkins of alder, 253 ; flying 

 with rooks, 284 



Tit, Coal, attacks fir-cones, 231 ; 

 manner of holding them, 251. 

 Ascends tree-trunks as does blue- 

 tit, 252 



Tits, Long-tailed, nest-building, 320, 

 321; "chit, chit" note, 320, 

 321 ; roosting together, 321, 322, 

 323 ; returning to roost in same 

 place, 322, 323 ; their prettiness, 

 320, 321 



Tit, Great, feeding on seeds of 

 exotic fir, 231, 232, 233, 234, 

 235 ; manner of loosening the 

 seeds, 232, 235. Probably eats 

 seeds of indigenous firs, 252 



Tree, old, winter foliage of, 201 



Tree-creeper, becominga fly-catcher, 

 48. Flies downwards from tree- 

 trunk, 240 ; but not invariably, 



241 ; suggested origin of the 

 habit, 241. Spiral ascent not so 

 general as asserted, 241, 242 ; 

 often ascends perpendicularly, 



242 ; suggested origin of spiral 

 ascent, 242, 243. Said never to 



descend trunk, 241, 244 ; but 

 can descend backwards, 244 ; in- 

 teresting to watch, 246 ; skill in 

 using beak, etc., 246 ; sometimes 

 acts like fly-catcher, 247 ; his 

 aesthetic beauty, 247 ; his hardi- 

 ness, 247 

 Trogons, shot in Mexico, 206 

 Turtle-dove, courting of male on 

 ground or in trees, 50 ; the 

 nuptial flight, 50, 51 



Wagtail, must wait a Httle, 337 

 Warrener, how affected by beauty, 



47 



Wheatear, combats and displays of 

 rival males, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 

 71, 72, 73, 74 ; his hopping out 

 of character, 68 ; conduct of hen 

 whilst fought for by rival males, 

 68, 69, 71, 72, 74, 78; chariness 

 of fighting shown by males, 7 1, 

 74. Antics of males not resem- 

 bling a set display, 77, 78 ; 

 attempt to explain these and 

 other antics of various birds, 74 

 et seq (to end of chapter). Power 

 of retaining a mental image, IIO ; 

 conduct of rival males similar to 

 that of nightingales 



Wild Duck, intelligent feigning of 

 injury to distract attention from 

 young, 60, 62, 63 ; suggested 

 origin of the habit, 63, 64 



Willow - warbler, preference for 

 birch - trees, 253 ; pretty be- 

 haviour with the catkins of, 253, 

 254, 255 ; reason for this possibly 

 aesthetic, 255, 256 



Wood-pigeons, courting of female 

 by male on tree, 45 ; raucous 

 note after pairing, 46 ; may here- 

 after lay in rabbit-burrows, 48 ; 

 courting of female by male on 

 ground, 48, 49 ; the clapping of 

 wings in flight, 51 ; beauty of 

 nuptial flight, 51, 52; swishing 

 or beating of wings in flight, 52. 

 Their simultaneous flights, 2IO ; 

 suggested explanation as to, 215, 

 216 



Wren, acting like a tree-creeper, 



