THE WINCHESTER WATER MEADOWS. 69 



silent, unobtrusive way in which it decamps before you get near it that 

 causes it to be so often overlooked. 



As April advances, we hear the strange and unmistakable note of the 

 Wryneck. But for its call, the bird, though not exactly shy, would 

 often escape detection, owing to its skulking habits and the sober colour of 

 its dress. As it flies along a hedge it might sometimes be mistaken for 



IN THE TRIANGULAR MEADOW. 



a dull hen Yellowhammer or Cirl-Bunting, but the dark chocolate triangle 

 on the shoulders will always make identification easy, if one can once get a 

 clear view of the back. Though it is most often found hopping clumsily 

 about a hedge, or creeping up a branch, somewhat after the manner of 

 a Woodpecker, the Wryneck can perch easily enough when it chooses, and I 

 once watched one seated on a smooth, thin piece of wire fencing, where it 

 seemed to retain its balance without any suggestion of its being a gymnastic 

 feat. Towards the middle of the month the numbers of the other migrants 

 begin to swell, and now is the time to visit that most charming of all the 



