THE FAUNA OF THE MOOR 121 



The bird usually remains perched on a twig, or sway- 

 ing to and fro on some umbelliferous plant, but 

 sometimes he sings on the wing. He is never in a 

 hurry like the Stonechat or Wheatear, though now 

 and again he will break off in the middle of his song, 

 dart into the air, seize some winged dainty, return to 

 his perch and begin the song all over again. Few 

 birds, if any, seem able to catch up a strain where it 

 was broken off, but have to start afresh a striking 

 instance of conventionality in beings so erratic by 

 nature." 



It seems just to call the Adder (Pelias berus) charac- 

 teristic of the moorland, although it also occurs on 

 commons and in woods. We have seen one sunning 

 itself on a bed of wild Thyme by the roadside where 

 cutting off an elbow had made a big heap of stones 

 and gravel; we have nearly trodden on one lying on 

 a narrow sheep-path more than half-hidden by the 

 Heather. In general, Adders may be said to like dry 

 and warm places, where there is not much traffic of 

 men or of larger animals. For they are shy creatures, 

 depending on small prey such as young Mice and 

 Voles, Frogs and Newts, and it is entirely unprofitable 

 for them to waste their venom on Sheep, Dog, or 

 Man. As a matter of fact, they are in the main 

 nocturnal in their hunting, though they are fond of 

 resting in the sunshine. They have very few enemies 

 (except Sheep, which stamp on them), and this fact, 

 taken along with their elusive habits and their occur- 

 rence in places where escape is easy, may help to 

 account for the great variety of colouring grey, 

 brown, olive, red, black for it has not paid the race to 

 adopt any fixed hue. In many cases there is a St. 



