VOL. XIV.] BIRD TRACKS IN THE SNOW. 51 



Before going further, it may be as well to state under 

 what conditions the tracks can be most easily studied. Winter 

 is the best time of year to study the majority of tracks, for 

 clean, white snow, if not too deep or hard, affords a splendid 

 background on which to decipher the hieroglyphics left by 

 the feet of nature's wild things. 



Thin, damp snow, over a hard, smooth surface, such as 

 a road, affords the best field for track study, as then each 

 imprint is clear cut, and there is plenty of contrast between 



FOOTPRINT OF PHEASANT. 



{Photographed by R. Clapham.) 



the impressions. If it is desired to photograph the tracks or 

 make diagrams of them, the above conditions, coupled with 

 an early morning or evening light, will be found ideal, as 

 shadows will be cast on one side of the tracks, and they show 

 up well. Deep snow, while showing the trail plainly enough, 

 blurs the individual tracks, and hides their characteristics ; 

 whilst frozen or crusted snow shows little more than the claw 

 marks. Occasionally deep snow reveals the identity of the 

 track-maker more easily than thin, soft snow. For instance, 

 the tracks of a Magpie can be mistaken for those of other 

 birds ; but if one finds in the snow the plain impression of 



