Quadrupeds — Birds. 1905 



other in their burrows, for they are exceedingly quarrelsome : the fox and weasel too 

 are formidable foes ; but the ceaseless war waged against them by man, the least ex- 

 cusable enemy they have, is the most destructive. Admitting that mole-heaps, and 

 loosening of the soil by the runs made through a field, are inconveniences, and even 

 injurious ; and that it is unsightly to see a gentleman's lawn disfigured with these tu- 

 muli : but such annoyances may be either removed or turned to advantage ; and it 

 must not be forgotten that their destruction of more injurious creatures is consider- 

 able. If it is desirable to expel them from their haunts, it may be done effectually 

 without destroying them ; for their extirpation is sure to be followed by a fresh inva- 

 sion. Evelyn says that they may be driven away by placing garlick in their runs ; 

 and perhaps assafcetida would be still more potent, if they must be drugged.'' — 

 p. 276. 



Anecdotes of Mice. — " A similar action to that of the fox has been observed in a 

 little animal, to which it is not common to ascribe more than an ordinary degree of 

 cunning or confidence in its own resources. In a bookcase of wainscot, impervious to 

 light, in which articles were kept which were more agreeable to the taste of mice than 

 books, when, at midday, the doors were suddenly opened, a mouse was seen on one of 

 the shelves ; and so rivetted was the little creature to the spot, that it showed all the 

 signs of death, not even moving a limb when taken into the hand. On another occa- 

 sion, on opening a parlour-door, in broad daylight, a mouse was seen fixed and mo- 

 tionless in the middle of the room ; and, on advancing towards it, its appearance in no 

 way differed from that of a dead animal, excepting that it had not fallen over on its 

 side. Neither of these creatures made an effort to escape, and were taken up at leisure ; 

 nor had they received any hurt or injury, for they soon displayed every mark of being 

 alive and well." — p. 202. 



Anecdote of an Owl. — " A brown owl (Strix aluco) had long been in the occupation 

 of a convenient hole in a hollow tree ; and in it for several years had rejoiced over ils 

 progeny, with hope of the pleasure to be enjoyed in excursions of hunting in their 

 company : but, through the persecutions of some persons on the farm, who had watched 

 the bird's proceedings, this hope had been repeatedly disappointed, by the plunder of 

 the nest at the time when the young ones were ready for flight. On the last occasion, 

 an individual was ascending to their retreat, to repeat the robbery, when the parent 

 bird, aware of the danger, grasped her only young one in her claws, and bore it away; 

 and never more was the nest placed in the same situation." — p. 244. 



Nesting of the Martin. — " In nest-building the martin (Hirundo urbica) manifests 

 more confidence in man than any of the feathered tribes. Their time for working in 

 the erection of these clay tenements is in the early part of the day, so that the mortar 

 may have the benefit of the drying influence of the sun, the afternoon being employed 

 in hawking after food. But in a situation near the sea, which was covered by the 

 tide at their usual time for labour, these birds have exercised so much reflection on 

 the natural phenomena of the ebb and flow of the tide, as to employ the morning in 

 collecting food, reserving their labour for the time when, they reasoned, their mate- 

 rials would be accessible to them. The mortar is conveyed in a pellet on the top of 

 the bill ; and they are careful not to hasten the structure too fast, lest its own weight, 

 while loaded with moisture, should bring it to the ground. An instance is remem- 

 bered where, from some such cause of suspicion as to the stability of the edifice, a 

 martin had recourse to the wonderful expedient of working in a straw, as a binding 

 beam along the curve of the structure ! The ends were, it seems, secured without dif- 



