Some of the dogs that run wild will devour eggs; and hawks pounce on the brood if they see an opportunity.

Owls are said to do the same.

The fitchew, the badger, and the hedgehog have a similarly evil reputation; but the first is rare, the second almost exterminated in many districts; the third--the poor hedgehog--is common, and some keepers have a bitter dislike to them.

Swine are credited, with the same mischief as the worst of vermin at this particular season; but nowadays swine are not allowed to run wild in cultivated districts, except in the autumn when the acorns are falling.
As the nests are on the ground they are peculiarly accessible, and the eggs, being large, are tempting.

Perhaps the mowing machine is as destructive as anything; and after all these there is the risk of a wet season and of disease.