The Mentality of Wild Birds and Beasties 



that it was quite impossible to keep my very 

 lively " sitter " within any field of focus and manipulate 

 the photographic apparatus at the same time. Luckily 

 my daughter came along in the nick of time, and I 

 handed the control of the reptile over to her. After 

 making several vain attempts to escape, to our astonish- 

 ment the grass snake coiled itself up, threw its head 

 over on one side, and, opening its mouth widely, allowed 

 its long black bifurcated tongue to hang out with every 

 apparent sign of death. I photographed it in this 

 strange attitude with my still picture camera, and then 

 turning my kinematograph apparatus upon it asked my 

 daughter to step on one side. Directly the death- 

 feigning creature discovered the coast was clear it with- 

 drew its tongue, closed its mouth, and, unfolding its 

 coils, glided off with astonishing swiftness. 



I have watched both thrushes and blackbirds hop- 

 ping round a hillock of mould in process of being thrown 

 up by a burrowing mole in the hope of catching worms 

 scared to the surface by the exertions of the dusky- 

 coated miner below. An old French writer has credited 

 the mole with considerable intelligence by asserting that 

 the animal will sometimes thrust the tip of his long red 

 snout through the mould he has thrown up and 

 patiently wait until an unsuspecting bird comes along 

 and pecks at it, under the mistaken impression that it is 

 the head of a worm, when the luckless creature is seized 

 by the bill, dragged underground, and devoured. 



I do not doubt either the desire or ability of the 

 spade-footed little cannibal to devour a small bird, but 



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