OF SELBORNE. 145 



LETTER XIV. 



TO THE SAME. 



Selborne, March 26, 1773. 

 DEAR SIB, 



THE more I reflect on the crTopyrj of animals, the more I am 

 astonished at it's effects. Nor is the violence of this affection 

 more wonderful than the shortness of it's duration. Thus 

 every hen is in her turn the virago of the yard, in proportion 

 to the helplessness of her brood ; and will fly in the face of 

 a dog or a sow in defence of those chickens, which in a few 

 weeks she will drive before her with relentless cruelty. 



This affection sublimes the passions, quickens the invention, 

 and sharpens the sagacity of the brute creation. Thus an 

 hen, just become a mother, is no longer that placid bird she 

 used to be, but with feathers standing an end, wings hovering, 

 and clocking note, she runs about like one possessed. Dams 

 will throw themselves in the way of the greatest danger in 

 order to avert it from their progeny. Thus a partridge will 

 tumble along before a sportsman in order to draw away the 

 dogs from her helpless covey. In the time of nidification the 

 most feeble birds will assault the most rapacious. All the 

 hirundines of a village are up in arms at the sight of an hawk, 

 whom they will persecute till he leaves that district. A very 

 exact observer * has often remarked that a pair of ravens nest- 

 ing in the rock of Gibraltar would suffer no vulture or eagle 

 to rest near their station, but would drive them from the hill 

 with an amazing fury : even the blue thrush at the season of 

 breeding would dart out from the clefts of the rocks to chase 

 away the kestril, or the sparrow-hawk. If you stand near 

 the nest of a bird that has young, she will not be induced to 

 betray them by an inadvertent fondness, but will wait about 

 at a distance with meat in her mouth for an hour together. 



* [His brother John, at that time chaplain at Gibraltar, and engaged 

 in preparing his Natural History of that place. T. B.] 



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