CHAPTER XXXV NESTING HABITS 



commenced to sit I have known her to be caught on her 

 nest, and replaced, and still not forsake it. A small blue- 

 headed tomtit formed her nest this year in a chink in my 

 garden wall, and allowed the children to take out an egg 

 to examine it from underneath her, without leaving the 

 nest. In fact, instead of being frightened at the intrusion 

 of their hands into her little warm, well-feathered domicile, 

 she picked courageously at their fingers, hissing and splut- 

 tering at them, and never seeming inclined to fly off. When 

 the young ones were hatched, the activity and persever- 

 ance of the old birds in providing them with caterpillars 

 and blue-bottle flies were perfectly wonderful. They ap- 

 peared to fly backwards and forwards to their young fam- 

 ily every minute of the day, always bringing some insect 

 in their bills. 



The good done by these little birds in destroying grubs 

 and flies ought to earn them an immunity from all dan- 

 ger from trap or gun. Gardeners are always too much in- 

 clined to wage war against all small birds, forgetting that 

 they invariably feed their young, not with seeds, but with 

 different kinds of grubs and caterpillars, in this way amply 

 repaying any little mischief they may do to the early- 

 sown seeds. For my own part, I never trust a gun in my 

 gardener's hands, but let the blackbirds and thrushes take 

 as many cherries as they like, in return for which they 

 destroy thousands of grey snails, etc., besides giving me 

 many a moment of pleasure by their song. I admit that I 

 do occasionally shoot the crows and jackdaws when they 

 destroy too many of the cherries,particularly as these active 

 marauders come from some distance in large flocks as soon 



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