SPRING AT THE CAPITAL. 181 



House, breeding there and waging war on 

 all other birds. The occupants of one of the 

 offices in the west wing of the Treasury one 

 day had their attention attracted by some 

 object striking violently against one of the 

 window-panes. Looking up, they beheld 

 a crow-blackbird pausing in mid-air, a few 

 feet from the window. On the broad stone 

 window-sill lay the quivering form of a pur- 

 ple finch. The little tragedy was easily read. 

 The blackbird had pursued the finch with 

 such murderous violence, that the latter, in 

 its desperate efforts to escape, had sought 

 refuge in the Treasury. The force of the 

 concussion against the heavy plate-glass of 

 the window had killed the poor thing in- 

 stantly. The pursuer, no doubt astonished 

 at the sudden and novel termination of the 

 career of its victim, hovered a moment, as 

 if to be sure of what had happened, and 

 made off. 



(It is not unusual for birds, when thus 

 threatened with destruction by their natural 

 enemy, to become so terrified as to seek 

 safety in the presence of man. I was once 

 startled, while living in a country village, to 

 behold, on entering my room at noon, one 

 October day, a quail sitting upon my bed. 



