Feeding and Protection of Young Birds. 105 



and suddenness of her onslaught astonished me. 

 I was wandering along a shingly beach, carefully 

 examining every inch of ground for fear of setting 

 foot on any eggs or chicks belonging to the cloud 

 of Avhite-Avinged, noisy birds in the air above me, 

 when all of a sudden I received a stinging blow on 

 the toj) of my head. It felt as if I had been struck 

 by a smartly hurled pebble, and T think its deliverer 

 must have suffered somewhat from the jar of the 

 collision, for she did not renew her attacks with so 

 nuich force, although she hit me several times 

 duriug my retreat to escape her f\ny. I have also 

 been attacked by Lesser J]lack-Backed Gulls, and 

 even such small birds as the Red-Backed Shrike, 

 in the defence of their young. 



The Missel Thrush is a brave bird, and not iu- 

 fret|uently perishes in the noble act of trying to 

 protect her children. If a prowling Cat happens 

 to ascend the tree in which her nest is situated, 

 she will dash at it in the boldest manner and pay 

 the penalty of her devotion. Occasionally she will 

 be guilty of the extreme imprudence of attacking 

 a AVeasel or Stoat upon the ground near to her 

 breeding quarters ; and the unequal contest ends 

 in a harsh scream and a bundle of disordered 

 feathers being dragged away by the four-footed 

 maurauder. 



The bird figured in our illustration (p. 109) saw 

 a Screech Owl sitting on a branch close to her nest 

 when she returned with food one day, and 



