236 NATURE'S STORY OF THE YEAR 



A female stonechat, also seen in winter, was in 

 a dark hedge, where she was feeding contentedly, 

 and often quitting it to seize some insect near. I 

 was not very near her, and, having a telescope in 

 hand, did not need to disturb the bird ; but she 

 persistently kept her back towards me. This was 

 her most inconspicuous position, for there are 

 markings on the breast of this bird, distinguishing 

 her from the robin, which, in back-view, she closely 

 resembles. For quite ten minutes I walked around 

 and around this bird before I could catch a glimpse 

 of her breast. 



The yellow bunting does not choose his dormi- 

 tory with deliberation, though careful to select a 

 sheltered locality. Often he merely flits into the 

 near hedge ; but as often he will seek the nearest 

 valley, flying high until over the chosen spot, and 

 then descending headlong and darting into the 

 shelter, to remain still and quiet for the remainder 

 of the evening. 



Far different are the manners of the chaffinches. 

 Directly the shadows of evening fall on the firs 

 these birds begin to arrive from the fields, their 

 crops distended with the seeds of weeds, and their 



