44 BIRD NOTES 



garden, and behold, it was a mass of snails on the 

 lower side. There must have been two or three 

 score of them of all sizes. I had them taken to 

 a safe distance from the garden, and there they 

 were left to the thrushes ; but they were so firmly 

 glued down to the slate that I doubt whether a 

 thrush would have the power to raise them. I do 

 not think a thrush could break the shell of an old 

 snail without raising it and hammering it against 

 some hard substance. I found a flower-pot 

 saucer one day that a thrush had almost filled 

 with snail-shells it had made use of it as an 

 anvil, in fact. Is not an anvil a tool ? If so, 

 then thrushes make use of tools. If it is not, 

 then I suppose a tool is something held in the 

 hand ; but no sharp line can be drawn between 

 using the hand, or nail, or claw, and using some- 

 thing held in the hand. Any way, I think one 

 may say that the thrush made use of my saucer 

 as a tool wherewith to break its snail-shells. Very 

 good use it made of it too good for the garden 

 as well as for itself and family. 



January 12, 1882. 



I wonder what the large birds are that 1 have 

 been watching from the beach this afternoon. A 

 fisherman whom I questioned afterwards thought 

 they must have been swans. But they were quite 

 black against dark clouds, and therefore could 



