THE FOX 105 



and behaves as though eager for the chicks to 

 break their shells so that she may take them off. 

 With all these restless movements her characteristic 

 odour is spread about and rises through the air, 

 so if a fox chances to pass by before she can get 

 the family away, both she and her chicks are 

 doomed. Again and again one will find cases 

 of pheasants and partridges being captured when 

 about to hatch out their eggs, and every farmer's 

 wife will tell you how the hens that " steal " their 

 nests (i.e. steal away and make their nests 

 under a bush or in a hedgerow) are usually taken 

 by the fox when on the point of hatching out 

 their eggs. 



The ground-nesting birds have certainly many 

 risks to face, and when the partridge, for example, 

 has safely hatched out her dozen or more dainty 

 brown speckled chicks she has by no means done 

 with the fox, she has still his keen nose to dread, 

 which will surely scent out those helpless mites 

 unless she takes care. However, she is not without 

 guile when the hunter of the night comes at 

 dusk questing across the meadows, he often puts 

 up a wounded bird, that flaps feebly in front 

 of him, trailing a broken wing as it endeavours 

 to get away, yet which is able to elude his rushes 

 in a strangely agile manner. After the fox has 

 made several futile dashes at it, being lured farther 

 each time from the neighbourhood of the crouching 

 chicks, the partridge suddenly finds it can use its 

 wings quite well, and flies away, leaving him 

 befooled, 



