172 FIELD NOTES FOR THE YEAR. 



The woodpigeons now fly considerable distances to feed on 

 acorns. In the south of England I have killed wild ducks 

 with their crops nearly bursting with the quantity of acorns 

 they had swallowed. They collect them from the single oak 

 trees standing in grass fields, 



From the variety of food found in the crops of wild ducks 

 it is evident that these birds must wander far and near, dur- 

 ing the night, and often into places where no one would 

 expect to find them. Though the peewits generally leave us 

 early in October, a flock is sometimes seen at the end of the 

 month. The golden plovers collect in great crowds on the 

 banks of the river to enjoy the morning sun. They are now 

 in excellent condition. 



The proceedings of the common long-tailed field-mouse are 

 amusing, and indicate the care with which these little 

 animals provide against the cold and scarcity of the winter. 

 They dig deep holes in the stubble-fields, in which they col- 

 lect large stores of food, such as grain, acorns, nuts, and even 

 cherry-stones. On the approach of cold winds or rain they 

 shut themselves up in their underground habitations, closing 

 the aperture completely. The quantity of earth which they 

 dig out and leave at the mouth of their hole in a single night 

 is quite astonishing. At the instigation of the gardener my 

 boys wage war against these little animals. By pouring 

 water into the holes the poor mouse is obliged, nolens volens, 

 to bolt like a rabbit driven out by a ferret. 



Late in the afternoon I constantly see the roe feeding on 

 those clover fields where there is sufficient second growth 

 to attract them. Nothing can be more graceful than the 

 light and agile movements of this animal while nibbling the 

 tender shoots of the bushes or trees on which it feeds. The 

 wild rose and the bramble are amongst its favourite morsels : 

 from the long twigs of these plants it nibbles off leaf by leaf 

 in the most graceful manner imaginable. As the leaves fall 

 from the birch and oak woods the roe quit them, and take to 

 the fir plantations, where they have more quiet and shelter. 

 The foresters accuse these animals of being very destructive 

 to their young oak trees ; and fond as I am of them, I am 

 afraid I must admit the accusion is just, as they undoubtedly 

 prefer the topmost shoot of a young oak-tree to almost any 

 other food. Nevertheless, the mischief done to the woods by 

 roe is but trifling when compared to that done by rabbits. 

 Many an acre is obliged to be replanted owing to their 



