TWO COMMON BIRDS 



other odds and ends to draw down their 

 burrows, for they feed on decaying vegetable 

 fibres. As they keep the end of the body in 

 their tunnels they can retreat in an instant 

 when they feel the slightest shaking of the 

 ground. Though without eyes or ears they are 

 most sensitive to tremors, so know just as well 

 as creatures that can see and hear when there 

 is anything coming near, even the light foot- 

 steps of a bird hopping over the grass being 

 enough to make them draw hurriedly back 

 into their holes. In any case they go home 

 soon after dawn, retreating down their holes 

 as the sun creeps up over the horizon, warming 

 the air and drying the dew-soaked grass. This 

 being so, the blackbirds and thrushes which 

 want worms for breakfast must be down at 

 break of day and, hopping cautiously over the 

 sodden lawns, pick up the worms before they 

 have the time to slip away. It is always an 

 amusing sight to see a thrush grab at a worm 

 which is anchored by the other end to its 

 burrow. The bird pulls with might and main, 

 while the grub does its best to wriggle away 

 down its hole. Suddenly the bird lurches 

 backwards, nearly sitting down on its tail, 

 for the worm has either given way or parted in 



47 



