258 



THE COxMMUXITIES OF BIRDS. 



The negro has not yet invented the door ; his hut remains open. 

 Against the nocturnal forays of wild beasts, he ohstnicts the entrance 

 with thorns. 



Nor does the bird know how to close his nest. What shall be 

 its defence ? A great and terrible question. 



He makes the entry narrow and tortuous. If he selects a natural 

 nest, as the wryneck does, in the hollow of a tree, he contracts the 

 opening by skilful masonry. Many, like the |)ine-pine, build a double 

 nest in two apartments : the mother sits in the alcove ; in the vesti- 

 bule watches the father, an attentive sentinel, to repulse invasion. 



What enemies has he to fear ■ Serpents, men or apes, squirrels ! 

 And what do I say ? The birds themselves ! This people, too, has 

 its robbers. His neighbours sometimes assist a feeble bird to recover 

 his property, to ex])el by force the unjust usurper. Naturalists assure 

 us that the rooks (a kind of crow) carry further the spirit of justice. 

 They do not pardon a young couple who, to complete their establish- 

 ment the sooner, rob the materials — " the movables" — of another nest. 



v; i rr.- ^ 



Tliey assemble in a troop of eight or ten to rend in fragments the 

 nest of the criminals, and completely destroy that house of theft. And 

 iniiiished thieves are driven afar, and foi'ced to bcirin all over a^ain. 



