THE HEDGE ACCENTOR. 69 



The Hedge Accentor's permanent sojourn in Britain 

 is another of the as yet unsolved problems in ornithology. 

 How can we explain the fact that, of all the army of insect- 

 feeding birds that quit our shores as the sun proceeds on 

 his journey to the southern tropic, this little insect-feed- 

 ing bird remains, and braves the northern blasts with 

 impunity, and varies his diet accordingly. We see him 

 as active amongst the leafless twigs or withered leaves 

 as when those twigs were clothed in verdure, and when 

 those same leaves were full of life and vigour. We see 

 him scatter the snow from the sprays of the evergreen 

 when he seeks repose at nightfall among its verdant 

 branches, and appear as strong and healthy as in the 

 height of summer, but we cannot explain it. The secret 

 is still in Nature's keeping, and all our attempts to eluci- 

 date it, our theories and conjectures, are at present all in 

 vain. 



