24 Game and Foxes. 



decoy him away fluttered along the ground as if 

 hurt, and Reynard promptly followed till both 

 went out of sight over a bank. This manoeuvre 

 on the part of the mother bird appeared to have 

 been a success, and the watcher was about to 

 leave his hiding-place when the fox came trotting 

 back. He knew th? chicks were scattered in the 

 grass at the spot where the hen was first seen, and 

 he '' nosed " around till each had been found and 

 devoured. One would have thought he would now 

 have been content, but further proof of his devilish 

 cunningwas forthcoming. Crouching out of sight m 

 the herbage he lay perfectly still for over a quarter 

 of an hour, and then the peevish call of the hen 

 pheasant for her chicks could be heard plainer 

 and plainer as she approached. At last she came 

 within reach, and would have been seized like the 

 rest had the fox not been scared at the critical 

 moment. Reynard knew full well that the faithful 

 mother bird would return to the spot where she 

 left her little ones, and that he had only to be 

 patient and wait. Could an instance of greater 

 cunning on the part of a fox be quoted ? 



Where scares of a mechanical nature are 

 employed for frightening foxes, the old adage that 

 ** familiarity breeds contempt " should not be for- 

 gotten. The eflficacv of such scares rests in their 



