_November 20th._--I have been much struck this morning by a remarkable
instance of protective mimicry on the part of a grey squirrel, which
assumes attitudes and adopts gestures which at a little distance render
him almost indistinguishable from a small monkey. WHITE'S _Selborne_
throws no light on this strange phenomenon, which I can only explain as
a result on the animal world of the now fashionable _Tarzan_ cult, which
so happily reconciles the old hostility between apes and angels.
Of the habits and customs of the hedgehog mention has already been made
in these notes. It may be added that the whistle which these interesting
creatures emit from time to time resembles the _timbre_ of a muted
piccolo, and their employment in a mixed orchestra is well worth the
consideration of our younger and more enterprising composers. Another
animal which shares with the hedgehog the defensive faculty of rolling
itself up in a ball is the "pill millipede," a myriopod with seventeen
pairs of legs, but fortunately exempt from the necessity of wearing
trousers, which at present prices would impose an exorbitant demand on
its resources.
As winter draws on the evolutions of birds great and small are a
never-ending source of surprise and delight. Many hooded crows are now
to be seen consorting with the rooks in the field and swelling the
sable multitude that flies at evensong towards the park trees. And great
congregations of plovers, curiously self-sufficing in their ability
to dispense with the services of any feathered parson, lend colour and
subconscious uplift to marshland scenes, which would otherwise look
extremely _triste_.
Small indigenous birds, such as titmice, chipmunks, pipits and
squinches, are constantly seen in coveys or even bevies just now. A
party of pipwinks visited my copse yesterday afternoon, and indulged in
delicious _morceaux_ of melody before the red sun sank starkly below the
horizon....
As long as the weather remains open I find it a good plan to plant
flowers and shrubs which bloom in the spring. Proticipation is a
cardinal asset in the outfit of the judicious gardener, and no
time should be lost in completing the spring beds, as the cost of
hair-mattresses is going up by leaps and bounds.
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