ANTICS OF THE SQUIRREL 37 



slowly and solemnly. If you learn to distin- 

 guish the notes of these three birds that will be 

 great knowledge gained. 



You might try and learn how some of the birds 

 fly. Notice the difference between the flight of 

 the Sparrow and the Swallow. 



Rooks and Starlings in the Summer time seem 

 very fond of each other, and fly about together in 

 great numbers; at night time, when they are 

 coming home to rest, the Rooks look like a long 

 black stream across the sky, while the Starlings 

 fly together in groups. Rooks are terribly afraid 

 of a gun. If you point your umbrella at a stream 

 of Rooks flying high above your head, they will 

 scatter at once. This also tells us what splendid 

 sight birds have. 



Should you chance to startle a Squirrel, so that 

 he bounds away and up the trunk of a tree, stand 

 perfectly quiet and watch. He will be sure to 

 come back to have a look at you, perhaps from a 

 high branch of the tree. If you keep still long 

 enough he may forget all about you and come 

 down to finish whatever he was doing when you 

 startled him. When he runs along the ground he 

 leaps like a Rabbit. Bunny leaps with his tail 

 turned up; the Squirrel leaps with his tail down. 

 As soon, however, as the Squirrel sits down to 

 rest or eat, up goes his bushy tail right over his 

 back. . 



