[Shanghai I heard two interesting stories about {the Golden Weasel (really a Mink) which show [that this interesting litre animal still hangs round the outskirts of Shanghai, even has" been driven' from its contre. The! Jarst scene took place in the Jessfield Zoo when" an carly" visitor found a Weasel, Jclinging to the wire-neifing of one of the [smaller aviaries, staring intently at the tcrrifled birds within; every bird was stock-still,, [with head lowered, staring back in terror at) the Weasel, and if would be interesting know how long this process would have continued if the Weasel had not been disturbed, this was apparently an example of birds! lacing fascinated by their natural attackers, and it would be even more interesting, to know if similar results could have been obtained. in the open—a question which the next story throws some light on. Another man. passing the Illy-pond at Jessfeld noticed a 'Shrike fochaving in a peculiar manner, swooping down from "a tree close' to the Jground, then fying up again and returning fo its perch hissing and chattering......s0 he Jwent quietly over to investigate: he found a [Weasel rolling over on its back and playing. hike a Kitten—tor even Weasels can be kitten-luke in their idle moments when there are not la few spots of murder to be done; the Shrike kept swooping at the Weasel (without touching i) and my friend got the impression that the, bird was "fascinated" and thus forced con-
{tinually to approach its fascinator: 1 donot, believe in. "this theory at all, for the Shrike) was behaving exactly in the way that all such birds do when they are trying to frighten. Jaway an enemy much larger than themselves, Jand know that the larger enemy (og. an Ow)
unlikely to attack. them. And, of course, the Shrike knew that the Weasel could not fly:
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.