NATURE IN DECEMBER. 273 



The Nuthatches and Tree Creepers join company with 

 them very often, and do not resent being partnered by the 

 Titmice. 



An old Carrion Crow is seen dibbing about in the field 

 skirting the wood. Just watch his antics through your field- 

 glass, see how strong and to what good purpose he uses that 

 massive bill of his, and how untiring are his efforts to get a 

 fill out of the hard ground. How the grey old church tower 

 stands out in the distance with the climbing ivy all around it. 

 The birds shelter here during the cold nights, and have to 

 pay the penalty when the clap nets come along, a remark 

 which also applies to the stacks in the farmyard. 



Provided that the weather is open, the December Moth comes 

 out from a smooth brown chrysalis. One may watch the Leeches 

 and other insects in some clear stream too if the weather is 

 congenial, and a fine old Pike lying just above the river bed 

 of fallen Autumn leaves does not escape the searching eye 

 of the Naturalist. Passing by an orchard one may see the 

 Mistletoe. Birds are responsible for the propagation of this 

 parasitic shrub in many districts for they eat the berries, and 

 these passing uninjured through the alimentary canal results 

 in the Mistletoe springing up in very unlooked-for localities. 



In the kitchen garden a nice patch of green stuff catches the 

 eye, and we may observe the Death Watch Beetle, and in the 

 flower garden the Christmas Rose. -How lovely a white frost, 

 how changeable is Nature ! One day it is muggy and desolate, 

 the next, one wakes to find the country around clothed in a 

 spotless garb of glistening white. What exquisite festoons and 

 what delicate net-work 1 A Chaffinch alights on the bough 

 above us and scatters soft flakes through the cold, crisp air. 



Across the air comes the drumming of the Snipe, whilst 

 the Devil's Coach Horse Beetle may perhaps be lighted upon 

 as we are turning out some pots in the garden. One cannot 

 help noticing even in severe weather that very few birds are 

 found dead by the wayside. This raises the question as to 

 how do wild birds die? Many no doubt when taken ill resort 

 to the woods and thickets and pass their last moments on 

 earth in solitude, then drop to the ground to be eaten by some 

 Crow or other carrion eater. 



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