Theodore Wood

“ For when it is at rest it always folds its yellowish-brown and olive-green wings closely round its body, and looks so like a shrivelled piece of dead leaf that it is very hard indeed to believe that it is really a moth. It is double-brooded, coming out first in May, and then again in September and October. But it always seems much more plentiful in the autumn than in the spring, and you can generally find it in numbers by looking on the blossoms of ivy on a warm evening. ”

“ But you will be surprised to see how different live prawns look from the dead ones which you may see in a fishmonger’s shop. The fact is that, like the lobster, they change colour when they are boiled. When they are alive, indeed, they hardly have any colour at all, and are nearly transparent. That is why it is so difficult to see them in the water. And if you keep them in an aquarium, all that you can see of them, very often, as they dart to and fro is just their glowing eyes, which gleam in the water like tiny balls of fire. ”

“ There is the singer—half a dozen of them in fact—fluffy little gray, black-capped birds not much bigger than a man's thumb, dodging busily about the limbs of that old apple-tree, swinging with desperate clutch at the tip of a twig, hanging head downward to get at a morsel on the under side of the bough, and chattering all the time as though cold weather were no hardship at all. ”

“ The nest of the flamingo is a cone-shaped heap of mud, sometimes as much as two feet high, with a little hollow at the top to contain eggs. Thousands of these birds nest together, and when they are sitting they look just like a great rosy-white cloud resting upon the ground. And if they are startled and fly away, their nests look as though hundreds of children had been making big sand-pies on the beach and neatly arranging them in rows. ”

“ I really think that this is the very handsomest of all our British butterflies; for its wings are of the glossiest possible black above, with spots of the purest possible white, and streaks of the brightest possible scarlet. And on their lower surface so many different tints of grey and pink and brown and red are mingled together that I cannot possibly describe them. All that I can do is to advise you to try to catch one of these butterflies and look at it for yourself; and if you do, I am quite sure that you will say that you have never seen a more beautiful insect. ”

“ If you turn over a stone, or lift up a piece of sea-weed which has been thrown up by the waves, twenty, or thirty, or forty of them will come skipping out like so many tiny kangaroos. And if you walk near the edge of the water when the tide is coming in you may often see them leaping about in such vast numbers that they look just like a thick mist rising for a foot or eighteen inches into the air. ”

“ It seems to know perfectly well, however, that fishes are very inquisitive creatures, and that they are always greatly attracted by any object that glitters. So when it feels hungry it lies down at the bottom of the sea, stirs the mud gently up with its side fins, so as to conceal itself from view, and dangles the glittering spine up and down in front of its open mouth. Before very long some passing fish is sure to come swimming up to see what this strange object can possibly be; and then the angler just gives one snap with its great jaws, and that fish is seen no more. ”

“ From the beginning of June till the middle of August you can hardly go into the garden without seeing it. If you look at a fence or a tree-trunk, there it is sure to be resting with outspread wings. If you shake a bush or a low plant, or the leaves of a creeper growing upon a wall, it is certain to fly out. And soon after sunset on any warm evening you may see it flying about in scores, or even in hundreds.
But although the moth is so very plentiful, one hardly ever sees the caterpillar. ”

“ As a general rule the grouse does not fly much, but runs with great swiftness among the heather. It makes a very rough nest of straws and twigs in a hollow in the ground, and often sits so closely on its eggs that it may almost be trodden on before it will move. When the little ones are hatched they seem to know without being taught how to conceal themselves in moments of danger, and if they cannot find cover will flatten themselves against the ground, where they look so much like stones that even the sharp eye of a hawk will pass them by. ”

“ Most people know the caterpillar of this moth a good deal better than they know the moth itself. I dare say that you have often seen it crawling about in August and September, always walking very fast, as though it were in a great hurry. It is a big, rather hairy creature of a dull yellow colour, with a black head, and with nine black stripes running along its body; and you may find it in numbers, feeding on the leaves of elm, lime, and willow trees. Very often, indeed, it is so plentiful that it strips whole branches of their leaves. ”

“ If you were to hunt about among the rocks quite close to the water's edge when the tide is at its lowest, you would most likely meet with a number of chitons, and you would be surprised to find how much they vary in color. Some are ashy gray all over; but a great many are streaked and spotted with brown, and pink, and orange, and lilac, and white. But the strangest thing of all about chitons—there are far larger ones in the warmer parts of the world—is that some of them have nearly twelve thousand eyes scattered about all over their shells! ”

“ On a hot summer’s day you may often see this beautiful moth hovering in front of geraniums and other flowers in the garden, with its long trunk plunged deeply down into the blossoms in order to suck up their sweet juices. And if you stand a few feet away and listen carefully, you will hear a low humming noise, which is caused by the rapid movements of the wings. ”

“ More nearly deserving the name nightjar, however, is our night-hawk, or bullbat, which is often seen flying swiftly about, high in the air, even before sunset, uttering a hoarse scream, or a queer-booming note, as it rushes, open-mouth, after unlucky insects.
All the birds of this group are insect catchers and eaters, and their mouths, which have only a tiny pretence of a beak, open exceedingly wide, so that they may scoop in a dozen little flies at once, or seize and swallow a great moth. Then the tongue is exceedingly sticky, like that of an ant-eater ”

“ But the very first time that you notice the male insect flying about on a warm summer’s evening you will see why the title was given to it; for it keeps on suddenly appearing and disappearing, over and over again, just as if it had the power of making itself visible or invisible whenever it chose. The fact is that the upper surface of the wings is glossy white, while the lower is dark brown, and that as the insect flies you can see the one and not the other. So every time that the wings are lowered the moth appears; and every time that they are raised it disappears. ”

“ Africa where on the edge of a forest, with rich pastures beyond, elephants and rhinoceroses, antelopes and buffaloes, lions and hyenas, creep down in the cool of the evening to slake their thirst in the flowing stream. There I saw the herds of zebras in all their striped beauty coming down from the mountain regions to the north, and mingling with the darker-colored but graceful quaggas from the southern plains, and I half grieved at the thought how these untamed and free rovers are being slowly but surely surrounded by man closing in upon them on every side. ”

“ But they come out at the same time, and fly about together, and are so much alike that it is not at all easy to tell the one from the other. The time to look for them is about the middle or end of March, and then, if you go into a large wood on a warm, sunny morning, you may sometimes see them flying about among birch trees. They are very fond, too, of visiting sallow, or “palm,” bushes, and sucking the sweet juices from their golden-yellow catkins. But the moment that the sun is clouded over they seem to disappear, and you will see them no more until it begins to shine again. ”

“ It isn't very sweet-smelling under this damp old wharf, where the rising tide is beginning to bathe the piles, and one after another plants and animals are expanding as they feel the refreshment of the water around them; and we will move away as soon as we have dug a few things out of the mud, soon be hidden by the tide. ”

“ Three or four killers will often combine in an attack upon a large whale, leaping upon it again and again, and striking terrific blows upon its body with their tails, hanging upon its lips like so many bulldogs, biting and tearing its flesh, and often actually killing it. The whale seems terrified by the onslaught of the ferocious creatures, and sometimes scarcely attempts to resist them, apparently knowing quite well that they are sure to be victorious in the end. ”

“ It is a basin among the ledges, filled with quiet sea-water left by the retreat of the tide, half-floored with sandy mud, and its edges fringed with feathery seaweeds, corallines, and hydroids. Here is a capital home for the little folk of the sea, where there is always fresh clear water, but where only a part of the time do the surges pound, and then never with full force; furthermore, a wall of rocks protects the nook, and enemies can rarely enter to destroy the peaceful society. ”

“ When the breeding-season begins they become very busy, picking up stones, carrying them about with a great deal of fuss, and then carefully arranging them in position, every now and then turning their beaks up to the sky, waving their flippers, and making a curious gobbling noise. If a sitting hen leaves her nest for a little, all the other hens become greatly excited, and peck at her as she passes by in order to drive her back again, croaking loudly in chorus, and evidently feeling extremely indignant with her for neglecting her duties. ”

“ And even in Great Britain, where so few patches of uncultivated land still remain, the young colts of Dartmoor, Exmoor, and Shetland, though born of domesticated mothers, seem to assert their descent from wild and free ancestors as they throw out their heels and toss up their heads with a shrill neigh, and fly against the wind with streaming manes and outstretched tails as the kulan, the tarpan, and the zebra do in the wild desert or grassy plain. ”

“ The famous bison, commonly called buffalo, of North America, sad to say is now almost extinct, for there are only a few small herds living under special protection. Yet, not so very many years ago, these magnificent animals wandered over the prairies in millions. Even a single herd, sometimes, would extend farther than the eye could reach, and we read of one herd which covered a tract of country fifty miles long and twenty-five miles broad! But these herds were recklessly destroyed for the sake of their hides and tongues, and now there are only a few wild buffaloes left alive altogether. ”

“ The osprey feeds almost entirely upon fish, and may be seen sweeping to and fro over the water, keenly watching for its victims as they rise to the surface. When it catches sight of a fish it swoops down upon it, plunges into the water with a great splashing, and nearly always rises again a moment or two later with the fish struggling in its talons. But it does not always succeed in reaching the shore with it, for the white-headed eagle is also very fond of fish, though it does not like the trouble of catching them. ”