130 A YEAR WITH NATURE. 



may be heard uttering its peculiar warble ; then wheeling 

 round and round, darting and stooping, and with its large Hawk- 

 like mouth dexterously catching any insect which is on its 

 night excursions. Woe betide any such insect, for in an 

 amazing short space of time this bird will have captured many 

 hundreds of these creatures ; yet another farmer's friend I 



A curious bird, indeed, the Goatsucker as the bird is called 

 in some localities owing to the ridiculous idea that it is very 

 injurious to weanling calves, inflicting, as it strikes at them, a 

 fatal distemper known by the name of puckeridge ! Even in 

 the days of the revered Gilbert White with whom the history 

 of Selborne will ever be associated the superstition for I can 

 call it nothing else existed, and to this day there are those 

 who persecute the bird therefor. 



'Hoot, Hoot,' and the Owl comes forth to tell its tale. The 

 Barn Owl, Long Eared, or Tawny species, perchance. Four 

 varieties breed in the British Isles at the present time ; the three 

 already enumerated and the Short Eared Owl. A country 

 rustic once said to me that the work of the Kestrel during the 

 daytime is taken up by the Owls at night, and the country 

 rustic is undoubtedly right. Would that there were other country 

 rustics who had the same correct opinion of Owls. 



Seen very rarely during the day, the Owls content themselves 

 with sleeping the sleep of the righteous, and dreaming of the 

 delights of darkness. 



The Glow-Worm relieves the scene with its curious light; a 

 restless Sheep or two in the distant folds produces the gentle 

 lullaby caused by the tinkling of the bells; and the delicious 

 strains of the Nightingale poured forth with such melodious 

 sweetness from the shadowy stillness of its embowered retreat, 

 is enthralling. It may be news to many to know that the 

 Nightingale also sings during the day, but its song mingled 

 with the voices of other birds - is less captivating than when 

 listened to during the twilight and moonlight hours. 



The moon slowly makes its appearance overhead ; its 

 light aids the weary traveller on his way, and enables us to 

 discern the late hours which are being kept by a flight of 

 Wild Ducks and half-a-dozen Herons, and the moving of some 

 restless Rooks in their roost trees. Secreted all around us in 



