192 WILD BIRDS 



pecking action in the way the bullfinch takes his 

 food. It is more as if he nibbled gingerly at the 

 twigs. 



The bullfinch at times is a vegetarian. His bill 

 is a bill for buds. Perhaps some of the food he seeks 

 in winter lies in the moulds which thrive on tree 

 stems. I believe the long-tailed titmouse has these 

 queer dishes on its winter menu ; and the bullfinch 

 too may have them. 



KINGFISHER AND CHAFFINCH 



As winter shows off the bullfinch better than any 

 of the seasons, so it shows off the kingfisher. The 

 kingfisher is hardly English in its jewelled splendour. 

 It is like a bit of Tropic life among our quiet-coloured 

 birds. But this is noticed most when the stream- 

 side is all grey and brown. There is a spot by the 

 river Itchen where I have several times seen the 

 kingfisher in winter, and the contrast of this live, 

 flashing gem set in the wilted and ragged reeds and 

 ruined tangle of the river banks is splendid. It is 

 the same with the kingfisher by many English waters 

 in winter. 



In Cowdray Park, in January, close to the ruins of 

 the old house, I saw a large flock of chaffinches. 

 There must have been quite two hundred, and all 

 that I could see were male birds. This careful 

 separation of the chaffinch sexes in winter is an 

 odd fact in Nature. We have no explanation 

 for it. The chaffinch flock is a lovely thing to watch. 

 The birds are full of easy motion, and it is good to 



