88 BIRDS THROUGH AN OPERA-GLASS. 
days of tournament and joust, when knights 
started out with leveled lances to give battle to 
every one they met. He is a fearless little war- 
rior, snapping his bill ominously as he charges, 
full tilt, at his enemy. 
Last summer on passing a thicket I heard this 
snapping, together with loud calls of che-beck’, 
and stopped to see what was happening. There, 
in a low willow, I found a family of young sun- 
ning themselves while their mother brought them 
their dinner. It seemed a most peaceable scene, 
but a picket fence ran along just back of the wil- 
low, and I soon discovered that this was the tilt 
yard. Whenever a song sparrow or pewee hap- 
pened to light there and stretch its wings fora 
sun bath, the fierce little mother would suddenly 
appear, dart at the unoffending bird, and fairly 
throw him off the fence with her abrupt onset. 
After unseating her enemy she would fly off as 
fast as she had come, career about in the air till 
she had snapped up a fly or miller, dart back, 
thrust it into one of the open mouths with a jab 
that threatened to decapitate the little one, and 
seemed to mean, “ There, take it quick if you ’ve 
got to have it,” and with a flirt of the tail and 
wings, before I had time for a second look, would 
be off in hot pursuit of another insect. 
I wanted to see if she would be afraid of me, 
and so crept up by the fence, almost under the 
baby birds. Two of them sat there side by side, 
le 
