ANIMALS WHICH SHAM DEATH 29 



in the practice of feigning death, but a case has 

 been reported of a newly- caught individual, when 

 being led from a corral between two tame ones, sud- 

 denly falling to the ground and remaining motion- 

 less in a death-like manner. All attempts to make 

 it move having failed, orders were given to the men 

 in charge to remove the ropes from its legs ; but 

 no sooner had this been done, and its captors pro- 

 ceeded a short distance on their journey, than the 

 creature rose immediately, and trumpeting loudly 

 to celebrate its recovery, bolted off into the forest, 

 where it was quickly lost to view. 



Instances of birds feigning death have been re- 

 corded by different observers ; the land-rail or 

 corn-crake, and the water -raU being proficient in 

 the art. In reference to the former bird. Canon 

 Atkinson wntesin Forty Years in a Moorland Parish : 

 ' A gentleman's dog catches a land-rail and brings 

 it to his master, iinhurt of course, as is the well- 

 trained dog's way, but to all appearance perfectly 

 dead. The dog lays the bird down at his master's 

 ieet, and he turns it over with his toe. It simply 

 moves as it is moved, aU its limbs Ump. Continuing 

 to regard it, however, the man sees an eye open, and 

 he takes it up. The " artful dodger " is quite dead 

 again in a moment, head hanging and dangling, 

 limbs loose, and no sign of life anywhere.' The 

 bird was then placed in its captor's pocket, but 

 showed its objection to being there by ' coming to.' 

 On being removed it again indulged in its efforts to 

 deceive, and was subsequently laid upon the ground 

 and kept under close observation in order to see 



