298 



SUMMER 



Both foxes and otters haunt the borders of the pools for the 

 sake of frogs. But smaller and slower hawks are the great 

 devourers of snakes and lizards, and most of them have long 

 been killed off in their old haunts. Though the hen 

 harrier has vanished from the heaths, the ash-coloured or 

 Montagu's harrier has happily nested repeatedly in recent 

 years on the Surrey heather hills, and may re-establish itself 

 if the egg-collector and gamekeeper will spare it. 



Red grouse chiefly feed on the young shoots of the ling, 

 but do not haunt the more southern districts in spite of the 



abundant supply of their food. They are a northern species, 

 most closely akin to the willow-grouse of Norway. Black 

 game prefer scrubby heaths and the borders of farm-land, 

 where they can find their more varied food ; and formerly 

 the blackcock and greyhen bred in many heather districts 

 in the south as well as in the north. They are still to be 

 seen in some parts of the New Forest, though they would 

 very probably have died out by this time if they had not 

 been reinforced by drafts from the north. Heather-shoots 

 seem a dry and harsh fare for the grouse, except for a few 

 months in summer when they are young and tender ; and in 



