142 Etnuntn of tJie ^vtt^ 



feathers that we call the kingbird, than 

 in any other creature that flies. 



I have frequently seen a kingbird, who 

 looked like the merest speck in compari- 

 son, chasing the largest hen hawk across 

 the fields at the hawk's liveliest pace. 

 He would dart at the larger bird as vi- 

 ciously as a bee, and occasionally, as though 

 to show his contempt for his great ad- 

 versary, would light upon the hawk's 

 back and peck away with might and 

 main at his head and shoulders. That 

 must have been a ride indeed, something 

 to remember and be proud of, — to sit 

 upon the back of a magnificent hawk and 

 drive him at will, while the old earth 

 dotted with farm-houses, and checkered 

 with grain fields, slipped by under one at 

 the rate of sixty or seventy miles an hour. 

 I doubt not, if the largest eagle that ever 

 spread wings should come his way, that 



