i8o 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
sounds that would denote the approach of danger. 
The beasts of prey are the terror of the weaker 
species, which cannot even assuage their thirst in 
the hottest season without halting upon the margin 
of the stream and scrutinising the country right and 
left before they dare stoop their heads to drink. 
Even then the herd will not drink together, but a 
portion will act as watchers, to give notice of an 
enemy should it be discerned while their comrades 
slake their thirst. 
It is a curious and inexplicable fact that certain 
animals and varieties of birds exhibit a peculiar shy¬ 
ness of human beings, although they are exposed to 
the same conditions as others which are more bold. 
We see that in every portion of the world the 
curlew is difficult to approach, although it is rarely 
or never pursued by the natives of the neighbour¬ 
hood ; thus we find the same species of bird 
exhibiting a special character whether it has been 
exposed to attack, or if unmolested in wild swamps 
where the hand of man has never been raised 
against it. 
The golden plover is another remarkable ex¬ 
ample, as the bird is wild in every country that it 
inhabits, even where the report of fire-arms never 
has been heard. The wagtails, on the contrary, are 
tame and confiding throughout all places, whether 
civilised or savage. The swallows are the compan¬ 
ions of the human race, nesting beneath their eaves, 
and sharing the shelter of their roofs in every clime. 
Why this difference exists in creatures subjected to the 
