Birds on the Eastern Fronts 



appear to have been far more disturbed by 

 the troops everywhere than by the shells 

 (Zoologist, 1916, p. 122). 



KESTRELS were seen hovering, taking not 

 the least notice of the bursting Turkish 

 shrapnel or the detonation of the heavy 

 naval guns and field artillery covering the 

 advance and filling the firmament with con- 

 tinuous roar (Saturday Review, g.x.is). 



GREY SHRIKES, WARBLERS, and LARKS sat 

 perched on the top of bushes, not having 

 been so much upset by the commotion as to 

 quit the place (Saturday Review, Q.X.IS). 



CRESTED LARKS were very common and 

 tame ; if a shell burst in the grass or heather 

 where they were, it merely caused them to 

 fly up and utter their call note, and they soon 

 dropped down again (Zoologist, 1916, p. 128). 



In May 1915 a WHEATEAR'S nest was 

 found in a cleft on the side of a Turkish 

 trench, above "Lancashire Landing." The 

 Turks had only just evacuated the position, 

 so that the birds had not been frightened 

 away by the bombardment nor by the subse- 

 quent landing ; the female proved to be 



136 



