LAST WEEK IN MAY 133 
tr we rer —— — 
at once disappear. You think he is watching 
you the while ; perhaps he is, but he is also 
looking for the heads of the worms just pro- 
truding from their holes. Then he takes 
another run and another until he has seen 
what he wants, when he makes a sudden 
dash for it, seizes the head with his beak and 
tugs away. Sometimes he does not get a 
good hold the first time. If so, he has lost 
that worm, for it immediately draws back. Try 
to catch one yourself, and you will see that you 
have to be quick and very quiet. Possibly the 
bird succeeds in getting a piece of the worm, 
which he promptly swallows, and the worm 
retires speedily minus a portion of himself. 
Then the thrush, resuming his little runs and 
keen glances, succeeds in getting a good hold 
of a sturdy thick worm six or seven inches 
long—now watch him! He fixes his legs 
wide apart, and pulls and pulls till the worm 
comes out in one piece. He lays it out on the 
grass, and paralyses its movements by numer- 
ous pecks in various parts. Finally he swal- 
lows it, generally whole unless he has broken 
