At Breakfast, Dinner, Tea, Supper. 23 



clad creatures they hasten off with it to some stone, 

 upon which the unfortunate victim is hammered 

 until the walls of his house give way, when he is 

 promptly dragged forth and swallowed. 



The illustration on the next page shows a 

 number of snails which birds, such as Eooks, Black- 

 birds, and Thrushes, love to eat. The three large kinds 

 are hammered on stones until their shells are broken, 

 but the smallest one is sometimes swallowed whole. 

 One day I was watching a Tree Pipit on her nest 

 from the interior of a stuffed bullock standing only a 

 yard away, and was surprised to see her suddenly 

 jump ujD and seize and swallow a snail that was 

 leisurely journeying up a grass stem eight or ten 

 inches away, entirely unconscious of danger. A friend 

 of mine once counted no less than one hundred and 

 eighty empty snail shells lying round a single flint, 

 and, being prompted by curiosity to weigh them, 

 found that they scaled over a pound. 



Botli Crows and Gulls take shellfish from the sea 

 shore, and, rising to a considerable height in the air, 

 drop their victims upon rocks or some other hard 

 substance in order to break the shells, when they 

 promptly descend to enjoy the feast. At Oban, in 

 Scotland, the latter birds may frequently be seen 

 doing this; but the ingenious individual that takes 

 the mollusc aloft does not alwaj^s reap the reward of 

 his industry, for some sly old companion will quietly 

 watch his movements and rush in and seize the 

 savoury morsel directly it has struck the ground, and 



