Why is winter called the silent season in the forest?

With the onset of winter, the forest becomes a silent fairyland of dazzling snow and glittering ice. Leaves no longer rustle, for they have all drifted down, leaving the tree branches bare and etched with ice.

Dead leaves on the forest floor are buried under deep snow drifts that muffle every sound. Most birds have flown away to warmer climates, and the animals that have stayed on to face the winter, go into hibernation.
Insects have either died as they reached the end of their life cycle, or have hibernating too. Streams and rivers no longer chatter, and waterfalls no longer roar, for they are all frozen solid.
Only the evergreen trees retain a splash of green, and the only sounds are the cawing of an occasional crow, tree limbs creaking in the wind, or snapping as they break under the weight of snow and ice.