202 WITH XATURE AM) A CAMEIiA. 



Tlie nial(^ l)ir(ls of many species feed tlieir 

 mates Avhilst they are engag-ed in brooding, 1 

 remember hiding up one evening- with a Yorkshire 

 gamekeeper in a small wood for a cock Sparrow- 

 liawk Avhich he said would be sure to come and 

 feed the hen sitting on her nest close by. Wo 

 located ourselves amongst some stunted birch trees 

 in a place well above the nest, and connnanding a 

 good view of nearly every winged a})proach to it, 

 and waited. In a while a very curious looking 

 object came sailing down the ghyll just above the 

 h-QG tops; there was a loud bang, and it literally 

 came apart, one half falling obliquely with a thud 

 to the ground, and the other disap])earing, as if b}^ 

 magic, round \\\v shoulder of a small hill. I jncked 

 u}) the i)ortion which Ave had seen fall, and it 

 proved to be a young Peewit plucked almost bare, 

 and still warm. The sound of the keeper's mi- 

 successful shot put the hen off her nest. We 

 waited until she returned, however, to receive what 

 my companion considered a fatal wound, but. 

 although Ijadly hurt, the bird was actually sitting 

 upon her nest next day, and when kilh^d the 

 devoted creature had dried blood iiuining the full 

 length of her tail and wing ([uills. 



Cock Rol)ins feed the hens assiduously whilst 

 they are sitting, and in return for their care receive 

 a low twitter of thanks. 



^[ost peo])le are aware of the fact that in nearly 

 all clutches of House and Tree Sparrows' eggs one 

 differs widely from the rest in regard to the 

 character of its markings. 



Last sj)riiig I snccccdcd in linding and ichmlify- 

 ing by the black jjatch on llie chin and throat of 

 the fenude a nest belonging to the latter speci(>s. It 

 was situated in a hole in a })ollard willow, and when 



