We have a cat which, when thirsty, sometimes drinks from an open tub,
balancing herself on the edge. When the water is too low for lapping
she will dip a front paw and lick off the water in delicate and dainty
fashion. Bloodthirsty creatures require deep drinks: stoats and weasels
go often to water. But creatures which feed on green-stuffs seldom
drink water directly, but in the shape of dew, or the moisture of their
food. Sheep, when feeding off root-crops in autumn and winter, have
little need of water, and rabbits and hares are not great drinkers.
Partridges are among many birds that may drink only of raindrops or
dew, or quench their thirst with juicy seeds or insects. Dry summers
always mean plenty of partridges--yet one hears, each dry summer, that
partridges are dying in numbers from drought. It is rather the absence
of moisture-supplying insects that is fatal to the birds.
* * * * *