Chap. XIV. UNP^VIKED BIEDS. 105 



cuius), were killed one after the other whilst attending 

 the mme nest; two of these were in mature plumage, 

 and the third in the plumage of the previous year. 

 Even with the rare goklen eagle {Aquila clirysaetos), 

 Mr. Birkleck ^vas assui'ed by a trustworthy gamekeeper 

 in Scotland, that if one is killed, another is soon found. 

 So with the white owl (Strix flammea), it has been 

 observed that " the survivor readily found a mate, and 

 " the mischief went on." 



White of Selborne, who gives the case of the owl, 

 adds that he knew a man, who from believing that 

 partridges when paired were disturbed by the males 

 fighting, used to shoot them ; and though he had 

 widowed the same female several times she was always 

 soon provided with a fresh partner. This same natu- 

 ralist ordered the sparrows, which deprived the house- 

 martins of their nests, to be shot : but the one which 

 was left, " be it cock or hen, presently procured a mate, 

 ''' and so i'or several times following." I could add ana- 

 logous cases relating to the chaffinch, nightingale, and 

 redstart. With respect to the latter bird [F.hoenicura 

 ruticilla), the writer remarks that it was by no means 

 common in the neighbourhood, and he expresses much 

 surprise how the sitting female could so soon give effec- 

 tual notice that she was a widow. Mr. Jenner Weir has 

 mentioned to me a nearly similar case : at Blackheath 

 he never sees or hears the note of the wild bullfinch, yet 

 when one of his caged males has died, a wild one in the 

 course of a few days has generally come and perched 

 near tlie widowed female, whose call-note is far from 

 loud. I will give only one other fact, on the authority 

 of this same observer ; one of a pair of starlings {Sturniis 

 vulgaris) was shot in the morning ; by noon a new mate 

 was found; this was again shot, but before night the 

 pair was complete ; so that the disconsolate widow or 



