The Mentality of Wild Birds and Beasties 



own little world, he passes on and leaves the most 

 tempting morsel of food behind. A neighbour of mine, 

 a retired inspector of police and a man in whose 

 integrity I could place implicit reliance, one day brought 

 me a wire rat-trap, the effective working of which had 

 been absolutely nullified by having two or three large 

 feathers plentiful in the fowl run where the trap had 

 been set ingeniously twisted in and out of the springs 

 and bars of the cage so as to prevent the wire door from 

 closing when the bait was gnawed. He assured me that 

 no human being but himself had had access to the trap, 

 and that he had not tampered in any way whatever with 

 the feathers. Needless to add, the bait had all been 

 eaten. 



Some people think that the wedge-like bill of an 

 oyster catcher must be an excellent instrument for 

 prising open the shells of the bivalve from which the 

 bird has derived its popular name, or dislodging a 

 limpet from its native rock. Personally, I do not con- 

 sider it capable of performing the former feat, and it 

 certainly would never accomplish the latter unless the 

 bird used its brains. 



I have watched oyster catchers dislodge limpets on 

 many occasions, and the birds approach the task by 

 exactly the same process of reasoning as would be em- 

 ployed by a small boy. The bird and the boy soon learn 

 that when a limpet has been touched it closes its shell 

 down upon the rock, creates a vacuum, and thus 

 becomes immovable, so they strike it a sudden side 

 blow, and off it flies. 



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