Strange Accidents to Wild Birds 



ing vessel had covered the place where the fish was 

 swimming, and the foolish bird driving its formidable 

 bill through the timbers of the craft instantly broke its 

 neck. 



Strange accidents not infrequently happen to birds' 

 nests, and especially to those built upon the ground. 

 I have many times known eggs or young ones crushed 

 under the hoofs of grazing horses, cattle, or sheep, but 

 one of the very oddest mishaps I have ever known 

 befell the nest of a partridge in which I was interested. 

 A mole cast up a hillock right beneath it and scattered 

 the eggs in all directions. 



Some years ago I came upon the dead body of a 

 puffin that had been smothered whilst foolishly attempt- 

 ing to excavate a breeding burrow in loose soft sand. 



