78 BIED NOTES 



large and finely coloured, and I can easily dis- 

 tinguish it from the others. The smaller ones are 

 very much afraid of it ; and if by an unlucky 

 chance one of them alights near the plate at the 

 same moment as the larger one, a very curious 

 little performance is to be observed. The smaller 

 one stands a little on one side, and avoids care- 

 fully and fearfully avoids looking at the other. 

 It dares not fly away (this I have observed with 

 other birds too) lest its enemy should fly after it ; 

 so it pretends not to see, hoping, therefore, not to 

 be seen ; or possibly it is merely that the hen 

 waits till her mate has fed, before beginning her- 

 self. The hedge-sparrow also acts strangely on a 

 similar occasion. It is a larger bird than most of 

 my visitors, and the tits are often afraid of it ; but 

 it has a very small beak and head, and I observe 

 that it endeavours, while keeping an eye on the 

 nuthatch and its beak towards it (its lance in rest, 

 i.e.) to hide its head under its ample feathers. I 

 have observed these performances so many times 

 that I feel quite sure of their meaning. The small 

 cole tit has a comparatively large head, and ac- 

 cordingly its wits are its defence. It seizes the 

 moment when the nuthatch has flown off with a 

 beak full of bacon, and slips quietly and confidently 

 into the plate, quite sure that the larger bird will 

 not be back immediately. When two nuthatches 



