THROUGH THE YEAR 147 



or on the ground, and lately I added to my list the 

 purple hairstreak. The butterfly turns its back to 

 the sun because, through the angle at which it sits, 

 it can get more sun warmth. That is its ecstasy. 



THE SECRET OF THE REDWING 



The redwing well serves to show how very hard 

 it is to reach the motive of migration. Here clearly is 

 a bird which comes to us in autumn from Norway 

 and Sweden and Eastern Europe to escape the starv- 

 ing winters. The redwing is a delicate thrush. It 

 suffers from cold, or from the dearth of food which 

 cold causes, sooner than the song-thrush and the 

 missel-thrush ; and sooner than the blackbird, 

 which is the deftest of birds at finding food in frost 

 time under the dead leaves. 



Little flocks of redwings, joined by a few song- 

 thrushes, fieldfares, and blackbirds, are seen in 

 early winter in many pastures and open commons 

 throughout England. A flock frequented the largest 

 open space in Battersea Park and roosted in the 

 shrubberies. Even some way off, when the light 

 mark over the eye and the rich red flanks cannot 

 be seen, it is sometimes easy to recognise the red- 

 wing through its wariness and its brilliant speed 

 on the wing. The song thrush can fly quickly, but 

 the redwing seems to be quicker. These smaller 

 birds gather their speed almost at once : they seem 

 not to depend on momentum for their pace so much 

 as large fliers. 



The redwing comes to us to escape the northern 



