I From Magazines, S'C; 201 



settlers liave sufterecl severely from the attenticjns ut weasels, tha 

 spectator pre])ared to rush to the Hawk's assistance ; hut, with 

 a squawk and wrench, it freed itself, leaving the weasel with a 

 mouthful of feathers. As quick as lightning it released its grip 

 of the weasel's shoulder and took a grip by the neck and an ear. 

 The weasel now evidently regarded its position as very critical, 

 and it uttered a succession of peculiar cries, which the Hawk 

 seemed to accept as signals of defeat, as it began to bring the 

 struggle to an end. With the grasp it had secured of the weasel's 

 ear, it could hold its enemy's head in a suitable position, while it 

 banged with its bill at the skull until a hole was made in it and 

 the weasel became limp. So the fight ended, and then the least 

 began, and the victor was left to enjoy it in peace." 



Deceit in Birds. — " Are Birds Deceitful ? " is the title of an 

 article by Dr. A. G. Butler in the June, 1915, issue of the Avi- 

 citUural Magazine. The answer to the question, the writer 

 thinks, is that birds are deceitful when they have an object in 

 view, but not otherwise. 



" Thus we know," writes Dr. Butler, " from many recorded and 

 well-authenticated instances, as well as from personal experience 

 when we have tramped the country with our eyes open, that 

 many birds will pretend to be crippled if one approaches their 

 nests or young, or will dive into bushes or shrubs at some distance 

 from the nest (passing quietly out on the other side) in order to 

 deceive one as to its location. 



" In like manner a malicious or predaceous bird will sit sleepily 

 upon a branch until some weak and unsuspecting species settles 

 within its reach, when it will suddenly pounce upon it. As I have 

 elsewhere recorded, I had several unpleasant proofs of this in the 

 case of a Rose-headed Parrakeet, which successively killed a 

 Whinchat, Stonechat, and Skylark in this sly manner ; in the case 

 of the last-mentioned the Parrakeet may have been scandalized 

 to see a Skylark sitting on a branch, though I have frequently 

 seen another example which I kept in a different aviary sitting on 

 a branch in the daytime ; at night it always roosted on the earth. 



" When, however, it is confidently asserted that birds deliber- 

 ately disguise their nests with lichen, moss, bits of paper, &c., in 

 order to render them inconspicuous, I am satisfied that those who 

 make such assertions cannot have had much experience in 

 searching for nests. It is quite true that such materials attached 

 to tlie outside walls of nests do render them frequently less con- 

 spicuous than they would be otherwise, but they are not utilized 

 by the builders with the object of deceiving, but because they 

 are readily obtainable and perhaps appeal to the bird's aesthetic 

 taste. 



" Of course, many birds do try to hide their nests, and I even 

 on one occasion had that of the Skylark pointed out to me con- 

 cealed by a piece of tangled water-weed loosely attached to one 



