42 BIRDS AND MAN 



long ears thrust out on either side of him. From 

 his living perch he sprang into the air and flew away, 

 going close to the surface ; then slowly the deer 

 raised her head and gazed after her black friend 

 gratefully, and regretting his departure, I could not 

 but think. 



Some birds when breeding exhibit great anxiety 

 at the approach of any animal to the nest ; but 

 even when most excited they behave very differ- 

 ently towards herbivorous mammals and those which 

 they know to be at all times the enemies of their 

 kind. The nest of a ground-breeding species may 

 be endangered by the proximity of a goat, sheep, 

 deer, or any grazing animal, but the birds do not 

 winnow the air above it, scream, make threatening 

 dashes at its head, and try to lead it away as they 

 would do in the case of a dog or fox. When small 

 birds dash at and violently attack large animals 

 and man in defence of their nest, even though the 

 nest may not have been touched, the action appears 

 to be purely instinctive and involuntary, almost 

 unconscious, in fact. Acts of this kind are more 

 often seen in humming-birds than in birds of other 

 families ; and humming-birds do not appear to 

 discriminate between rapacious and herbivorous 

 mammals. When they see a large animal moving 



