CAPTURING WILD ANIMALS 207 



The escape of the large owl was a grievous dis- 

 appointment to me, at the same time I had proved 

 to myself that the study of the cat's tactics had not 

 been in vain. I had learned the art of stalking 

 wild creatures. Among the live game captured by 

 me in this manner, are gray squirrels, red squirrels, 

 chipmunks, flying squirrels, a full-grown muskrat, 

 opossums, raccoons, and one full-grown red fox. 

 The latter was being pursued by the dogs when it 

 dashed into a house and took refuge under a bed, 

 under which I crawled and brought forth the live 

 animal without receiving a scratch or a bite. 



I also captured live full-grown birds, catching 

 the goldfinches by creeping under the big sun- 

 flowers and snatching them from their perch while 

 they were feeding upon the oily seeds of the plant. 

 I even caught specimens of such shy birds as the 

 scarlet tanager, bob whites, ruffed grouse, and wild 

 pigeons. 



A few years ago there was 



AN OLD CROW 



that was blind in one eye. He frequented a cer- 

 tain woods where some lumber had been cut and 

 where a pile of decaying logs gave him a perch 

 from which he could survey the surrounding land- 

 scape. It was also a famous hunting ground, fre- 

 quented by wood-mice, shrews, small brown red- 

 bellied snakes, beetles and luscious fat grubworms. 



