A DIVING CAT 109 



marauders, but do not like to do so, as they belong 

 to the cottagers ; but it is very disappointing, after 

 having watched some happy little brood day after 

 day, to find them ruthlessly slaughtered by these 

 poaching animals. I have every respect for 

 really good cats, but when they take to killing 

 birds they are rarely good mousers, and prefer 

 feathers to fur. I once saw a cat dive off the 

 bank of a deep river after a rat, which it captured 

 and brought to land. It is the only instance I 

 have known of a cat performing such a feat ; but 

 I have had reason to suspect that a Persian tabby 

 belonging to a friend of mine is in the habit of 

 destroying fish, though I have as yet not been 

 able to detect her in the act. 



The character of the country in which my 

 home is situated is peculiarly well adapted for 

 the nesting and maintenance of a variety of birds. 

 Large stretches of downland studded with gorse- 

 bushes, plenty of woodlands and well-watered 

 valleys, withy-beds and water-meadows, cultivated 

 land and pastures, offer a combination of attrac- 

 tion not frequently to be met with. There are, 

 besides these, plenty of strong hedgerows which 

 are capable of affording food and shelter to those 

 birds which affect such situations. And we are 

 rich in bird-life. I myself have noticed nearly 

 a hundred different kinds of birds, and there are 

 also many others which I know to frequent the 

 neighbourhood, but which I have not included in 

 this number, either because I have not seen them 



