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CHAPTER X 



December 21, 1876. 



I AM very much amused with the birds on my 

 window-sjll. There were no less than five blue 

 tits feeding there just now. So many do not often 

 remain amicably there together. They maintain 

 their feeding-ground against all comers, even 

 chaflinches. This morning a robin had a fight 

 with one of them, and though it at first conquered 

 its little adversary and had its feed, it was driven 

 away at last by a tit that flew straight at it. I 

 fancy the tits' beaks are very sharp and strong. 



By-the-by, I saw a flight of blue tits chased 

 out of a spinney of larches not long ago by the 

 long-tailed ones it seemed by mere force of noise. 

 Apparently the blue ones could not bear the shrill 

 whistling any longer, and away they flew in a 

 body. Perhaps they felt that in that case the 

 bottle tits had a prior claim to the feeding-place. 



March 26, 1877. 



I am more and more impressed with the re- 

 semblance between birds and children ; in both 



