TRIALS OF A BIRD'S LIFE. 55 



he tlirusts his long, lancelike beak into one of 

 them and carries it off to some place where he 

 can suck out its contents. If the nest contains 

 callow little ones, he will gobble them down, 

 cannibal that lie is, or carry them one by one 

 to his own brood, to cultivate in them a taste 

 for bii'd flesh. 



Of course, other birds are aware of his prey- 

 ing habits, and give him battle whenever he 

 approaches their nest. He gets many a cuif 

 over his head and back from the vireos, pewees, 

 and sparrows, which are more dexterous on 

 the wing than he. I once saw a wood pewee 

 make the feathers fly from the back of a jay 

 which was prowling about its premises, and I 

 felt like applauding the plucky little David 

 for routing the great Goliath. Mr. Burroughs 

 thinks that other birds, which suffer at the 

 hands of the jay, sometimes take revenge by 

 puncturing his eggs, and otherwise bringing 

 his expectations to grief. 



It pains me to have to admit that the cat- 

 bird, fair-voiced minstrel that he is, sometimes 

 becomes a burglar; but John Burroughs ac- 

 tually saw one in the act of devouring the eggs 

 of the least flycatcher. I have never seen the 

 catbird doing anything of the kind, but if Mr. 

 Burroughs really saw this cruel deed with his 



