SQUIRREL 



inquisitive eyes in my direction. Then he dropped the acorn, and 

 frisked about for very joy. It seemed as if he too had caught the 

 spirit of the Lark's song. From branch to branch he jumped 

 with a graceful airy movement, but try as he would to go away, 

 his inquisitive nature always brought him back to where I was 

 silently watching. 



The Squirrel always reminds me of a schoolgirl, in that if 

 there is some little mystery to be solved, he will do his utmost 

 to master the problem, and will pry and inquire, and search until 

 he has examined the mystery from every available point. Now 

 he returns, and seems still more bold, runs down the thick 

 trunk where I cannot see him, and then, in the most unexpected 

 place, I see a little brown head and those two wondering, jet- 

 black eyes peeping round a corner ; the next moment they are 

 gone, and in another place I spot my entertaining little visitor. 

 Up and down he goes, again and again giving out a curious 

 little cry, until I can keep motionless no longer, and, having 

 discovered that I really can move and walk, he runs up the tree, 

 skips from branch to branch, jumps to the next tree, and in 

 a few seconds is lost in his leafy world. 



The Squirrel is a greater enemy to birds than many realise. 

 He is exceedingly fond of eggs, and in the nesting season is 

 responsible for many. My friend, the Rev. D. Edmondes Owen, 

 last spring sighted a Squirrel in the very act of sucking a clutch 

 of Redstart's eggs. A few years ago I was hiding underneath a 

 bush, watching a Little Grebe at its nest. Immediately above me 

 was a rookery. While waiting I heard a movement on my left, 

 and cautiously looking round I saw a Squirrel coming directly 

 towards me. It actually jumped over my feet and then ran up 

 one of the trees and was lost to my view for a few minutes. 

 Presently I heard a slight sniffling above me, and then this 

 little thief returned by the way he had come, again passing over 



37 F 



