The
men with sticks in their hands go beating at the reeds and brushwood
to frighten the birds out, and the hawks show themselves overhead
and frighten them down. The men then strike them with their sticks and
capture them. They give a portion of their booty to the hawks; that
is, they throw some of the birds up in the air, and the hawks catch
them.
In the neighbourhood of Lake Maeotis, it is said, wolves act
in concert with the fishermen, and if the fishermen decline to share
with them, they tear their nets in pieces as they lie drying on the
shore of the lake.
37
So much for the habits of birds.
In marine creatures, also, one In marine creatures, also, one
may observe many ingenious devices adapted to the circumstances of
their lives. For the accounts commonly given of the so-called
fishing-frog are quite true; as are also those given of the torpedo.
The fishing-frog has a set of filaments that project in front of its
eyes; they are long and thin like hairs, and are round at the tips;
they lie on either side, and are used as baits. Accordingly, when
the animal stirs up a place full of sand and mud and conceals itself
therein, it raises the filaments, and, when the little fish strike
against them, it draws them in underneath into its mouth.
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