94 TURDUS MERULA. 



and from one to two o'clock the male fed them twice, and the 

 female thrice. 



" Although the hut in which I sat was very closely covered, 

 a Wren having alighted on the ground in pursuit of a fly, no 

 sooner observed one of my legs in motion, than it set up a cry 

 of alarm, on which, in the course of a few seconds, all the 

 birds in the neighbourhood collected to see what was the cause 

 of it. The Blackbirds hopped round about the house again 

 and again, made every effort to peep into the interior, and even 

 alighted on the top of it, within a few inches of my head ; but 

 they at length gave up the attempt. 



" From two to three o'clock the female fed them twice, and 

 from three to four o'clock the male fed them three, and the 

 female four times. 



" That some of the notes of birds are a language which con- 

 veys a direct meaning, may, I presume, be inferred from the 

 following interesting occurrence, which took place at half-past 

 three o'clock, an occurrence which I witnessed with the most 

 anxious curiosity, and which I could scarcely have believed 

 had I not seen it. The female having brought a large worm, 

 I am sure more than four inches in length, put it into the 

 mouth of one of the young, and then flew away. Upon her 

 return, having perceived that it was sticking in its throat, she 

 set up the moan of distress. To her assistance her cry imme- 

 diately brought her partner, who likewise seemed to be aware 

 of the consequences. To force it down they made several 

 efforts, but in this they were unsuccessful. Strange to tell, 

 the male at length discovered the cause of the catastrophe. 

 That part of the worm which by being entangled among the 

 feathers of the breast had been prevented from going down, 

 he carefully disengaged, and held it up with his bill, until 

 after the most unusual efforts, the young bird at length swal- 

 lowed it. But so much exhausted was it that it remained nearly 

 three hours without moving, and with its eyes shut. The 

 male, having alighted upon a tree a few yards from his nest, 

 poured forth some of his most enchanting notes, a song of re- 

 joicing, no doubt, for the narrow escape from death which one 

 of his family had just made. 



