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NOTES ON THE HABITS OF SOME COMMON BIRDs. 53 
a sort of territorial right. In a garden where robins are common, 
a particular corner will generally be found in possession of an 
individual bird, which maintains its right against all comers. 
The presiding robin will generally be found in or near his own 
corner, from which any intruder is at once expelled. Two of our 
pets held despotic sway over adjoining territories. One of these 
was a robin which in the course of his numerous quarrels had 
had the misfortune to lose an eye. I used often to dig worms 
near the boundary of the rival kingdoms, and try to tempt the 
despots into each other’s domain, with the result that war was 
‘ Pb] 
instantly declared. When assuming the offensive or defensive, 
the one-eyed robin had a very sinister aspect; and the excess of 
military ardour, to which his accident had most probably been 
due, seemed in no sense to have been diminished by the mishap. 
Of this one-eyed robin I have a strange tale to tell. One 
afternoon he was seen outside the kitchen door, at some distance 
from his territory, and in a very sorry plight, being scarcely able 
to fly. He shuffled along the paved court into the stable, and, 
when brought out, retreated beneath the kitchen stove. One of 
* his legs was found to be badly injured ; and as he would certainly 
have fallen an easy prey to the first passing cat, we decided to 
act the part of the good Samaritan. We dressed the bird’s leg 
with oil, and resolved to keep him in the house all night. 
Having recovered a little, he seemed much alarmed at his 
unusual surroundings, and flew through the house from kitchen 
to parlour, where he rested on a curtain-rod above the window. 
He afterwards made his way back to the kitchen, where he 
finally settled on an empty jelly-mug on one of the top shelves. 
He seemed to find this a comfortable roosting-place, and remained 
there during the night. Next morning, when the door was 
opened, he went out, and a few minutes later was found once 
more in his old territory in the garden. We feared that we had 
seen the last of him, as he was still in too weak a state to be able 
to defend himself. To our great surprise, however, in the course 
of the evening he re-appeared at the kitchen door and voluntarily 
resumed his old perch on the jelly-mug. For about four weeks 
he continued to go out and in several times every day, returning 
at night to his favourite roosting-place in the kitchen. Some- 
times, after performing his ablutions, he arrived with his plumage 
