210 THE BOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



it ascending the trunk and branches with surprising speed, running 

 out even on slender twigs, always, when in motion, keeping its 

 tail depressed, occasionally performing leaps from one branch to 

 another, and when alarmed scampering away at such a rate that 

 you almost expect to see it miss its footing and fall down headlong. 

 It feeds on nuts, beech-nuts, acorns, buds, and the bark of young 

 branches ; generally, while eating, sitting on its haunches, with 

 its tail elevated, holding the object between its paws, and dexter- 

 ously unshelling the kernel, from which it even removes the 

 outer pellicle before munching it." l There are many points of 

 interest to the " Nature student/' e.g. how does the colour 

 change with age, season, and locality ? how do the ears change 

 with the seasons ? where is the nest made ? what does the winter 

 store consist of ? how is it that shooting down the squirrels in- 

 creases the number of wood-pigeons ? 



Birds of the Woods. When we think of the woods we 

 hear the far-off Coo-roo, coo-coo of the wood-pigeon (Columba 

 palumbus), the loud laughing Pleu, pleu, pleu of the " yaffle " or 

 green woodpecker (Gecinus viridis) or the hammering of its great 

 spotted cousin (Dendrocopus major), the cawing of rooks, the 

 Si-si-si of the tits, and so on through the mistle-thrush's song to 

 a climax in the nightingale's melody. There are many character- 

 istic woodland birds, such as nuthatch, magpie, jay, gold-crest, 

 pheasant, owls, and sparrow-hawk. Some kinds one expects in 

 particular woods thus the siskin, the crossbill, and the capercailzie 

 are at home among the Scotch firs. We should try to get some 

 definite snapshots, say, of the woodcock walking at dusk along 

 the " cock-roads/' probing the soft soil for earthworms, or of 

 the young from which the mother has been startled lying motion- 

 less among the fallen leaves a most striking case of protective 

 resemblance. Very characteristic, too, is a glimpse of the tree- 

 creeper (Certhia familiaris), jerking itself round the tree trunk on 

 the search for spiders and insects. 



Slugs. In some woods especially towards evening and after 

 a shower the black slug (Arion ater) is greatly in evidence, and it 

 well merits study. The pupils should watch it moving, and try 

 to find it feeding ; they should notice the two pairs of horns or 



1 See (Lydekker) p. 222. 



