BIRDS OF PEASEMARSH 



They can withstand the cold if they have 

 enough to eat, but without food they either 

 succumb or are too weak to escape from such 

 enemies as the Great Grey Owl, which make 

 serious ravages upon them. 



Where Quail exist they can be protected and 

 the flocks saved by building a simple shelter 

 and keeping it supplied with food. Waste 

 grain would answer the purpose. But even 

 this may not enable them to increase. Any 

 that are spared to nest in .the spring are at the 

 mercy of the cat, poor Bob-White's most seri- 

 ous enemy apart from the gunner. In his home 

 on the ground his ten or fifteen eggs, or nest- 

 lings, are protected only by an arch of grass, 

 and where the cat finds them not one of the 

 birdlings will be left alive; and each of these 

 was soon to become a destroyer of our most in- 

 jurious insects. 



Considering all the dangers that beset the 

 way of this little friend one cannot wonder that 

 it has disappeared from many parts that were 

 once considered Quail districts. 



As it is a resident bird and a home bird, sel- 

 dom going any great distance, the sanctuary 

 can do very much towards increasing its num- 

 [116] 



