SOME VISITING CARDS. 305 



left their mark behind them. Rarely does this 

 species come upon the land, and its footprints 

 are not often seen in the snow ; but those of the 

 Coot frequently tell the tale of their owner's 

 wanderings ashore. By the side of the swamps 

 the long, slender footprints of the Snipe, each 

 one cleft to the base, may sometimes be seen ; 

 and in the game coverts by the stream the 

 Woodcock leaves the unmistakable sign of its 

 visits stamped upon the snow. 



Many birds there are that flit among the trees 

 and bushes, yet never leave a record of their 

 presence on the snow. Such birds as Titmice 

 rarely or never come to the ground during a 

 snow-fall, and Nuthatches and Woodpeckers 

 invariably keep to the tree trunks and branches. 

 We must read their various signatures in the dis- 

 lodged snow from the trees ; but at best the 

 writing is blurred and indistinct, and difficult to 

 decipher. Sometimes a snow-covered branch will 

 display the footprints of a bird that may have 

 chanced to perch upon it, but the discovery of 

 such is rarely made. Here, for instance, a bird 

 has been sitting on this snow-crusted branch 

 hanging over the stream. The footprint left 

 thereon is no ordinary one. It is a tiny stamp, 

 indeed, and the two outermost toes in front are 

 joined together for nearly half their length ; the 

 mark of the Kingfisher. On rare occasions the 

 Woodpeckers leave their tracks upon those trunks 

 which the driving wind has decked in a snow- 



