NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE 



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. 



Should I farther corroborate what I have advanced above 

 by some anecdotes which I probably may have mentioned 

 before in conversation, yet you will, I trust, pardon the repeti- 

 tion for the sake of the illustration. 



The fly-catcher of the " Zoology " (the Stoparola of Ray) 

 builds every year in the vines that grow on the walls of my 

 house. A pair of these little birds had one year inadvertently 

 placed their nest on a naked bough, perhaps in a shady time, 

 not being aware of the inconvenience that followed. But a 

 hot sunny season coming on before the brood was half fledged, 

 the reflection of the wall became insupportable, and must in- 

 evitably have destroyed the tender young, had not affection 

 suggested an expedient, and prompted the parent birds to 

 hover over the nest all the hotter hours, while with wings ex- 

 panded, and mouths gaping for breath, they screened off the 

 heat from their suffering offspring. 



A farther instance I once saw of notable sagacity in a 

 willow-wren, which had built in a bank in my fields. This bird 

 a friend and myself had observed as she sat in her nest ; but 

 were particularly careful not to disturb her, though we saw 

 she eyed us with some degree of jealousy. Some days after 

 as we passed that way we were desirous of remarking how this 

 brood went on ; but no nest could be found, till I happened to 

 take a large bundle of long green moss, as it were carelessly 

 thrown over the nest in order to dodge the eye of any im- 

 pertinent intruder. 



A still more remarkable mixture of sagacity and instinct 

 occurred to me one day as my people were pulling off the 

 lining of a hotbed, in order to add some fresh dung. From 

 out of the side of this bed leaped an animal, with great agility, 

 that made a most grotesque figure ; nor was it without great 

 difficulty that it could be taken ; when it proved to be a large 



