INTRODUCTION. xi 



and down the quiet corners of the British Isles, 

 seeking patiently after a more intimate knowledge 

 of the ways of the wild birds and beasts that 

 roam over the land. 



My life is now devoted to the task of interest- 

 ing my fellow-men in a new and bloodless way 

 of studying the wild life of the countryside, and 

 I am again and again told by people who have 

 been induced through my lectures or books to 

 use their eyes and ears that they never dreamed 

 Nature study was such a fascinating subject. 

 Especially pleased am I to be assured that boys 

 are giving up blowpipe and collecting-box for 

 field-glass and camera : in short, dropping mere 

 robbery for observation and thought. 



This work is, as its title implies, an attempt 

 to show something of the most intimate relation- 

 ships of wild creatures at home, amidst their 

 natural surroundings, and entirely unaware of 

 the fact that they are under observation of any 

 kind whatsoever. It throws some new light 

 upon the habits, instincts, and intelligence of the 

 feathered inhabitants of our woods and fields. 



I hope it is permissible for me to say that 

 books of this kind are produced at the expense 

 of a great amount of patience and physical 

 endurance. In fact, a good deal of the literary 

 and pictorial material which has gone to the 

 making of the present work would never have 



