106 WOODLAND CREATURES 



With this old, old " broken wing trick," part- 

 ridges, lapwings, etc., draw foxes, dogs, and cats 

 from the neighbourhood of their young, but even 

 this clever make-believe does not always save the 

 chicks. Yet, taking all in all, the fox probably 

 destroys more young rabbits than it does birds. 

 Where rabbits are plentiful you will find trace 

 of scores of nests being raided. When a fox by 

 means of its keen sense of smell ascertains there 

 are young ones in a rabbit hole, or when it comes 

 across one of those sealed nurseries which the 

 doe has closed by filling the mouth with earth 

 and stamping it down, it does not attempt to 

 scratch a way in from the mouth of the hole, but 

 quests about on the top of the ground, until it 

 locates the spot beneath which the young ones 

 are lying, and then digs straight down upon them. 

 A badger goes to work in the same manner, but 

 it makes a bigger entrance. The work of a fox 

 is unmistakable ; the hole is small, round, and 

 neat, and goes straight down into the burrow, so 

 that the unfortunate young rabbits are extracted 

 with a minimum of time and labour. 



Writing of the manner in which foxes capture 

 their prey reminds me to mention that the dog- 

 fox is a devoted mate, and that when one finds 

 evidence of birds and rabbits having been carried 

 off, it does not follow it was a vixen taking food 

 home to the cubs, it may have been the dog-fox 

 undertaking the same duty, and helping to keep 

 the family supplied. From what one hears and 

 sees I judge that, at any rate during the breeding 



