JERRY THE KINGBIRD 207 



which are disgorged from time to time ; so it was common 

 to find little pellets of undigested feet, legs, wings, etc., 

 about the size of a common quinine capsule under our 

 Eed June apple tree. 



One spring after Jerry had been nesting in that tree 

 for years I put up a martin box on the other side of the 

 yard. I had wanted martins for two or three years, but 

 had never made them a box. Within four or five days 

 a pair of martins took possession, and then trouble began 

 in earnest. Jerry resented the intrusion and was not wise 

 enough to keep his resentment to himself. Doubtless the 

 martins would not have raised any question of owner- 

 ship; but when war was declared, they entered it with 

 full vigor. The campaign lasted for five or six days, 

 with fighting almost constant. The martin is the one 

 bird that is more active than the kingbird, and poor Jerry 

 came out second best in every encounter. The old spotted 

 cat had always resented Jerry^s tyranny, and now she sat in 

 the front yard watching the combat. After an unusually 

 hard fought battle Jerry fell to the ground, possibly in- 

 jured — I never knew. In a flash the old cat was upon him, 

 and from the way she carried herself it was evident that 

 she felt more than the usual exultation on catching a 

 bird, for she had not only caught her breakfast but had 

 gotten rid of an old time enemy. Before night Jerry's mate 

 left the neighborhood. I had grown very fond of Jerry, 

 and promptly removed the martin house, hoping the mother 

 bird would find another mate and return, but she never 

 came back. 



