BIRDS AND GARDENS 211 



when he spends hours digging his long beak 

 into a bit of rough grass in the garden, and 

 alarming the starlings who stand in great awe 

 of him. Even the blackbird treats him with 

 respect and keeps at a distance. 



The covey of partridges that are always to 

 be found in one of my meadows, often make 

 their way up to the garden in the early 

 Summer mornings. And one hard Winter 

 the charming creatures came up over the 

 snow close to the house in search of food, 

 terrifying one of my young cats, who had 

 never before seen such large birds, to such 

 an extent that he hurled himself crying 

 loudly for shelter, against the French windows 

 of the dining-room, while the partridges re- 

 mained perfectly calm. When birds feel 

 quite secure, their ways with cats are very 

 entertaining. Puschkin and Gogol, when they 

 were kittens, used to be much worried on 

 Summer evenings by the mysterious Fern- 

 owls (Caprimulgus Europe us). One would 

 fly silently down the garden and perch a few 

 yards ahead of the cats on the path ; while 



