THE POLEGATE WOODS. 103 
and bees themselves. A German observer has recorded that, in preying 
upon these insects, it seizes them crosswise in its beak and nips off the sting 
end of the body, which it allows to fall to the ground. . . . In attacking 
bees and wasps and their nests, it tears up the earth and comb very much 
as a hen scratches for its food. In this method of attack the bird is well 
provided by nature with defensive armour in the shape of its peculiarly 
thick plumage, especially about the head and throat. . . . It spends a 
good deal of its time on the ground, and when thus seen moves very like 
a Raven, with upstretched neck and ruffled neck-feathers.” 
The Corvide are, of course, common in such a locality, and hardly a 
season passes without eggs of the Magpie, Jay, and Carrion-Crow being 
brought to me for inspection; while, beside the Wood-Pigeon, the Turtle- 
Dove is to be found in most of the glades. 
It was in these woods that I first made the acquaintance of the Tree- 
Pipit as a breeding species. It nests sparingly in the neighbourhood, the 
railway bank near Hellingly being, perhaps, its best known haunt. Distin- 
guishable in the hand from the Meadow-Pipit by its curved hind claw, it is 
an easy bird to identify in spring time as it soars aloft and pours forth its 
song, which, though not beautiful, is sure to attract the attention of a 
passer-by. True, the Meadow-Pipit also sings while in the air, but he darts 
up and descends, somewhat after the manner of a Warbler. The Tree- 
Pipit, while singing, hovers more like a Kestrel; its wings look larger as 
it does so, and it hangs its legs and feet in such a way that they present 
the appearance of an inverted “T.” The eggs, which, generally speaking, 
are redder than those of the Titlark, are very beautiful, when they happen 
to belong to the blotched variety, and the nest is not infrequently placed 
amongst the roots of a tree. By casual observers this Pipit is often confused 
with the Woodlark, which accounts for several reported occurrences of 
the latter bird. The Woodlark, however, is, as far as I can discover, quite 
a rarity in the district, and Mr. Bates tells me that he has very seldom had 
it brought to him. It should be distinguishable on the wing by its much 
shorter tail, and in the hand by the long and straight hind claw. 
Far more beautiful and attractive than the Tree-Pipit, the Green 
Woodpecker, despite incessant persecution—I have often seen nooses hanging 
round its holes—still manages to maintain its numbers undiminished; and 
I have seldom made the journey to Polegate without seeing, or at all events 
hearing, one or more of these interesting birds. The fact is, the eggs are 
distinctly difficult to secure, and I have never known a boy actually get one. 
I hear every year of ‘“‘new Woodpecker’s holes certain to have eggs within 
