86 



BIRD NOTES 



CHAPTER III 



January 1, 1882. 



A STRANGELY warm winter this has been, so far. 

 I have had fewer birds upon my window-sill in 

 consequence of it. Not, indeed, fewer of my 

 ordinary visitors : blue tits, cole tits, nuthatches, 

 sparrows and chaffinches of these I have plenty ; 

 but last year the larger birds, thrushes and black- 

 birds, and even starlings, were glad to come. But 

 then last year the snow was deeper than I have 

 ever known it ; it covered everything eatable, and 

 the birds seemed to eat, or to try to eat, anything 

 they could get. I saw a blackbird, after three 

 ineffectual attempts, swallow one of the large 

 frozen hips of the Scotch rose : it must have been 

 like swallowing a marble. How any birds, except 

 those that were fed, survived that winter I cannot 

 think. This year it is just the reverse ; we have 

 had no snow and scarcely any frost. Gales, 

 indeed, there have been, many and violent ; and 

 torrents of rain, but no real winter. 



To-day I heard the fully developed spring note 



