20 BIRD NOTES 



Once, soon after I came here, when this house 

 was surrounded by old orchards and fields and 

 hedges, I had a great treat. The winter was 

 severe and thick snow covered both the ground 

 and the trees. Besides strewing crumbs on the 

 window-sill above, I had placed some on a flower- 

 stand under the verandah below, just before the 

 dining-room window. I was sitting in the draw- 

 ing-room above when a flute-like note drew me to 

 the window, and I saw in the garden below a bird 

 that was strange to me. I went downstairs to get 

 a nearer view of it, and to my great delight found 

 about a dozen lovely little long-tailed tits feeding 

 upon the flower-stand ! They took complete 

 possession that winter not only of the flower-stand 

 but of the window-sill above. They would wait 

 in the morning in the trees opposite (I could hear 

 their clear, flute-like notes as I was getting up), 

 and as soon as I closed the window after putting 

 out the crumbs for them, down they would fly 

 with an undulating motion, like a flight of arrows, 

 straight to me. I almost felt as if I were going 

 to be shot, but apparently they did not see me 

 at all behind the glass, and would begin to feed 

 at once. Most lovely little things they were, 

 with such graceful, high-bred manners. Very 

 sociable too; if one of them happened to come 

 alone at any time (and they came and went all 



