370 



THE KINGBIRD. 



edged house, a feathered Don Carlns, must needs spend a fretful hfe in de- 

 fense of liis claims Toward those who knuckle down tamely tlie little tyrant 

 is often very gracious, and it may be conceded that he does perform a real 

 service in holding the common enemies at ba\'. Who has not seen him as he 

 Cjuits his i)ercli on some commanding tree and hurries forward, choking with 

 vengeful utterance, to meet and chastise some murderous hawk, who before 

 an}- other foe is brave? Dnwn ccmies the a\'enger! The Hawk shies with a 

 guttural cry of rage and terror, while a little puff of feathers scatters on the 

 air to tell of the tyrant's success. Again and again the quick punishment 

 falls, until the tiny scourge desists, and returns, shaking with shrill laughter, 



to give his mate 

 an account of 

 his ad\'enture. 



It is easily 

 possible, how- 

 ever, to exag- 

 gerate the pug- 

 nacity of the 

 Kingbird, or to 

 infer from ex- 

 treme examples 

 that all are 

 quarrelsome. It 

 is not unusual 

 for Kingbirds 

 to be on the 

 best of terms 

 with their im- 

 mediate neigh- 

 bors, thieves al- 

 ways excepted. 

 I once found in 



one small aspen tree at Chelan the nests of three birds each containing eggs, 

 viz., a Robin, an Oriole, and a Kingbird. The two latter were within five 

 feet of each other. Dr. Brewer also records an exactly similar case. King- 

 bird's courage, which is unquestionable, is often tempered by prudence: 

 altho at other times it quite overbalances his better judgment. The Bur- 

 rowing Owl will tolerate none of his nonsense, and I have seen the 

 birds make sad mistakes in molesting these virtuous mousers. The 

 sight of a Shrike will make a Kingbird shrink into the smallest possible 

 compass, while Catbirds, too, are said to be, for valid reasons, quite 

 exempt from molestation. 



Photo by P. S. Merrill. Taken near Sf^okanc. 



A DEJMURE YOUNG TYRANT. 



