134 AN EAST COAST NATURALIST 



SOME AWKWARD MISTAKES 



Birds, like ourselves, do not always avoid com- 

 mitting little errors of judgment. In January 1896 

 a Kestrel, noticing a movement in the herbage below 

 it, stooped and seized what, to his surprise, turned 

 out to be a weasel. He almost immediately dropped 

 it; and then, hurriedly altering his mind, actually 

 captured it again and rose in the air with it, to 

 drop it as hurriedly once more, when the animal 

 began squirming and shrieking. Luckily for the 

 Kestrel, its sharp talons had inflicted injury upon 

 its unwonted prey, and also had held it near the 

 head, or he might have fared badly. The poor 

 little weasel dragged itself into a hole, where, in 

 a bad way, it lay for a while exhausted, half in 

 and half out. It eventually recovered, and was 

 molested by the plucky hawk no more. 



In the same month I observed a large Gull stoop 

 to the surface of Breydon and seize a bit of floating 

 food. A Hooded Crow, observing the sea-bird's 

 success, straightway dashed at him, and so hustled 

 him that, to recover himself, he was obliged to 

 drop the food. He descended again and retrieved 

 his prize ; but " Hoodie " once more dashed at him, 



