WOOD AND AVASTE 45 



Finally T broke the birds in so thor- 

 oughlv to the shutter, that it was accepted 

 as normal, as one of the sounds of nature, 

 the rustling of grasses, the patter of leaves, 

 the lapping of water. 



When our acquaintance began, the lizard 

 season was at its height — the first brood 

 being almost entirely reared on them. 

 Later, lizards were practically "off" the 

 bill of fare, and dragon flies "on" — lizards, 

 say, during December; dragon flies during 

 February. At any rate, lizards during the 

 former month would supply the piece de 

 resistance, and during the latter, dragon 



fly- 

 Cicada and locust were also served up 

 from time to time, but rarely. 



While the parent birds were still shy of 

 my shelter, I used to notice that after one 

 or two attempts at the nest — they w^ould 

 balk just like boys "funking" at high 

 jump — the particular lizard carried during 

 these unlucky attempts would be got rid 

 of and another substituted. This, I could 

 tell by the differing sizes of the little 

 beasties. It was pathetic, indeed, to watch 



