234 
Birds oil fJir JJ'cstcru Front. 
certain part of tlie trenches near Arras daily, and were no*' 
apparently distm'lied by either pretty heavy shell or machine-gun 
fire. 
T.ARKS : Larks are quite numerous in and around " No 
Man's Land." and it is one of the few real joys of the trenches 
to hear them carolling" away in the early mornings and evenings 
whenever there is a lull in the storm of strife. 
Rooks & jACKnAws : These are continually to be 
observed flying over, backwards and forwards across " No 
Man's Land," especially as winter advances. T frequently saw 
them as if about to alight. Init they were at once scared away bv 
the rattle of machine-guns or a stray shell, and T never saw them 
actually do so. 
Magpies : I only saw one actually in the line, though 
they are common enough iust behind, even in the shell area, i.e 
two or three miles behind the lines. This bird seemed verv 
unhappy judging by its fliuTied actions, and no doubt was 
astray and thankful enough to get back to its usual and more 
sectu'e haunt'^. 
IRoTiix : T onlv saw one myself, but believe they are not 
uncommon during the winter in certain sections of the trenches. 
.Sparrow-Hawk : Again only one, and this one soon left 
on hearing a few shots. 
l")i^CK : Two flew over, but not too high for me to 
identify the species, probably Mallard. 
HEARl^ BUT NOT SEEN. 
The following birds, though not actually seen, were 
frequently heard calling from " No Man's Land.'' 
Paktrti)(;i;s & Quail: Judging from the number of the 
former calling every evening all over " No Man's Land," these 
must have been very numerous, and two or three were actuallv 
shot bv men in the trenches, though speaking for myself I 
c-^nnot claii" to li-ve actually seen any. The same remark applies 
to (piail, which 1 frequently heard calling on fine mornings and 
