I. 



WINTER BIRD LIFE 



THE gentle days of autumn gradually give 

 way to the stern realities of winter, and by 

 January the shortest day of the year has 

 come and gone. 



January in the British Isles is a variable 

 month ; there may be a spell of singularly 

 mild weather which has been known to 

 cheat a song thrush into laying her eggs ; 

 again, the wild north wind may blow, ac- 

 companied by heavy falls of snow. Long 

 ago have the summer visitors hurried south 

 and the bird population have adapted them- 

 selves to their winter mode of life. 



Nothing disorganizes bird life so much 

 as a long spell of frosty weather ; then the 

 question of food-supply at once becomes a 

 problem which is difficult to solve, and 

 much suffering ensues in the bird world. 



Among the resident birds such as the tits, 

 finches, and starlings, " packing " is one of 

 the signs of winter. Great companies of 



