252 RIVERSIDE LETTERS xxxi 



the puffin, has no general spring cleaning. 

 The puffin gets several of her species to 

 assist in clearing out her nest, previous to 

 laying her one egg, while, as the house- 

 swallow generally has three successive broods 

 in a season, her one nest gets filled with 

 vermin. I should like to give you an 

 anecdote of the starling which came under 

 my own observation. In the winter of 1888, 

 while visiting in Wiltshire, there were about 

 300 of these saucy birds pecking about on 

 the snow-covered meadow, when suddenly 

 the son of my host shot into them, wound- 

 ing however only one, which struggled pain- 

 fully alone on the snow, but not for long, 

 for back flew one of its mates to perch 

 beside it, and comfort it as best it could in 

 its own bird language. 



" I used to like to watch the rooks in our 

 rookery in the building season. They 

 always leave a sentinel or two behind to 

 guard the half-formed nests in the home 

 trees, and occasionally the naughty sentinel 



