MISTLETOE AS FOOD FOR BIRDS 395 



But if it be the fact that wandering thrushes, in 

 cleansing their bills upon the rind of trees 

 frequented by them, leave behind them some of the 

 clammy seeds to perpetuate the continuance of the 

 parasite, and it is no uncommon thing to see both 

 Fieldfares and Redwings perched upon oaks, we 

 may perhaps infer that the rind of the oak, unlike 

 that of the other trees mentioned, does not from its 

 hard dry nature afford a suitable nidus for the 

 germination of the seed. At anyrate, the fact 

 remains that the author quoted had seen both 

 Fieldfares and Redwings feeding in winter on the 

 seeds of the Mistletoe, and in directing attention to 

 his statement on this point, which appears to have 

 been generally overlooked, it might be well to 

 inquire, when these birds are with us as winter 

 visitors, whether other naturalists from their own 

 observations are able to confirm his remarks. 



The authors of The Country Month by Month, 

 (J. A. Owen and G. S. Boulger), alluding to the 

 observations by Lees, without mentioning the 

 volume in which they were published, add nothing 

 in confirmation of his statement. They would 

 have done well, perhaps, to have quoted what 

 he has to say on the derivation of the word 

 " Mistletoe," since his explanation has as much to 

 recommend it as their own statement that " while 

 tan or teinn, the old spelling of the last syllable, 

 admittedly signifies ' a twig,' the mistel (sic) is 

 connected with mist in the sense of winter sfloom or 

 fog." Lees at least quotes authorities for his view. 

 He says : — 



