BRITISH MAMMALS 



cleverness. As to its fondness for the eggs of game 

 birds, on one occasion we were the privileged spectators 

 of an unrehearsed country incident which is worth 

 telling here. A Hedgehog was seen hunting along a 

 hedgerow bordering a favourite belt of woodland, until 

 it found a Pheasant's nest containing sixteen eggs. 

 Thereupon, it sampled one of the eggs by breaking the 

 shell and sucking the contents dry. The result of the 

 experiment was evidently very satisfactory, as we saw 



jSkwll oF Hedgehog. Na^slze-. 



r\QS. 



the animal take each egg from the nest until the whole 



of the sixteen were stolen ! The Hedgehog sat up on 



its hind quarters, held the egg in its fore feet, and when 



thus engaged, strikingly reminded one of a Squirrel 



with a nut. 



As well as being a good runner and swimmer, it is also 



a capital adept at climbing, and because of this it is 



difficult to prevent a tame Hedgehog escaping from 



even a high-walled garden. It is easily the largest 



member of the Insectivores, and belongs to the genus 



Erinaceus. It mostly hides by day, reveUing in a leaf- 

 36 



