304 BRITISH BIRDS. 



wreaths over the spot. Yet when I looked at the nest 

 on the 29th, after the snow had disappeared, the bird 

 was sitting, as if nothing had happened, and the eggs 

 were shghtly incubated. In due time all the eight eggs 

 hatched out, and the young were safely reared. It is 

 quite impossible that the bird can have sat on this nest 

 during the snow. Indeed, the place was so thoroughly 

 drifted over that I could not identify the exact situation 

 of the nest. There was nothing but a wilderness of 

 compact snow wreaths, and if the bird had been sitting 

 she must have been a prisoner for nearly three days. 

 The eggs, remaining fresh, Avere protected by the thick 

 roof formed by the grass tuft and sticks, from the super- 

 incumbent snow ; while the inherent warmth of the 

 ground underneath kept them from being chilled or 

 frozen. So soon as the snow was gone they were ready 

 for incubation, and the bird returned to them. 



The rush of migrants which came as soon as the weather 

 changed was most remarkable. On the 25th the Blackcap 

 was singing in my garden, although the country was still 

 snow-covered, and there were heavy snowstorms again 

 that evening. On the 26th the call of the Wryneck was 

 heard from the tall elms. But on the 28th the tempera- 

 ture at last rose to 58°, and nearly all the summer birds 

 appeared at once. Cuckoos were calling loudly, and 

 the country seemed alive with Willow- Warblers in full 

 song. Many Swallows were about, and the Sand-Martin 

 colonies were in full force. Tree-Pipits were singing, 

 and at 11 p.m. the songs of Nightingales could be heard 

 in all directions. Encouraged by a summer temperature 

 on the first two days of May, the Lesser Whitethroat, 

 Swift, and Spotted Flycatcher were all up to time, on 

 the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th of the month respectively. And 

 at the end of the first week of May, the sycamore, beech, 

 and other trees, which had been still bare at the close of 

 April, were thick with leaves, while the general aspect 

 of the country showed little trace of the wintry ordeal 

 through which it had so lately passed. 



