THE CAPE DORMOUSE 



them forth with its sharp incisor teeth and greedily 

 eats them up. In captivity the Dormouse prefers 

 such food to any kind of fruit, nuts or grains. The 

 Dormouse possesses one very bad trait of character, 

 for if it should happen on the nest of a bird, it eats 

 the eggs and young. However, it is only the eggs 

 and young of a few of the small birds which build 

 their nests in the dense thickets of native bush 

 which are preyed upon. The larger birds can 

 always hold their own against the Dormouse. 



One dull cloudy day, hearing a great din in a tree, 

 I crept forward and unobserved saw a pair of Fiskal 

 Shrikes (Lanius collaris), which juveniles term " Jack 

 Hangers," angrily scolding two Dormice which evi- 

 dently had evil designs on their nest, which I subse- 

 quently ascertained contained three young birds. 

 The birds were the parents of those plump and tooth- 

 some-looking youngsters. Anyway, both parents had, 

 doubtless, arrived in time to save their children. 

 The Dormice were at bay, and afraid to retreat. 

 However, their bold aspect was the courage of 

 despair, for they well knew that they were in fear- 

 ful peril. As I watched, one of the birds made a 

 dash. There was a short scuffle, and a Dormouse 

 dangled limp from the Shrike's strong beak. The 

 other Dormouse fled, but was overtaken and simi- 

 larly slain by the other parent bird. Presently the 

 Shrikes hopped along to their nest and, dismem- 

 bering the bodies of the Dormice, dropped them 

 bit by bit into the gaping mouths of their babies. 

 7 1 



