THE ANIMAL ' CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS' 125 



others as a heron, was seen to be firmly impaled. An 

 enterprising owner of a big telescope fixed it up to 

 oblige those of his customers who wished to discover 

 what species of fowl met with this curious death, one 

 which is, we believe, unparalleled in the animal ' chapter 

 of accidents.' 



If the * bills of mortality ' in the animal world could 

 be made out with precision, and the causes ascertained, 

 accidents would, we think, account for a much smaller 

 number of deaths than might be expected, or, indeed, 

 desired, if the accidents were immediately fatal ; for 

 such sudden death would save them from that grim 

 spectre of lingering starvation which lurks in the 

 background of the life of most of the higher animals. 

 But accidental death, or death hastened by injuries due 

 to accidents, is not very common among wild animals, 

 while domesticated species, though much more liable to 

 injure themselves, have the enormous privilege of ' first 

 aid to the wounded ' accorded them by man. 



Birds are naturally the least liable to accidents of any 

 living creatures.* This immunity they owe almost 

 entirely to the fact that the air in which most of their 

 movements take place is absolutely free from obstacles 

 to flight at a height of four hundred feet above the 



* But after the recent hurricane in the West Indies it was found 

 that every bird and almost every insect was dead. The islands 

 were absolutely silent, as the hum of insect and bird life had 

 ceased entirely. 



