Dead Shrews
During the week I discovered two dead shrews at ,the foot of ; rotting post, and it seemed likely that they had been dropped by ai owl. Last year I had the same sort of puzzle, but I think the explana tion is that there is something repugnant in the flavour or scent o a shrew that causes its enemies to decline the meal. In this particula case I concluded that the shrews had been caught by an owl, on; after the other, and that the owl had carried them to his favourit perch before discovering that they were shrews and not 'mice. 11 the autumn last year I found several shrews on the stepped wall of reservoir, and could not think of any sound reason why they hat been dropped. It was during the winter I read that shrews havo something about them that predators dislike. Whatever the strengtt of the theory, I cannot at the moment recall having seen a cat eatin, a shrew, and I doubt whether an owl would be too lazy to recove, prey that slipped from its grasp, particularly at nesting time.
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