2i6 LOCH C RE RAN. 



them, and turning a piece of wood in imitation thereof, 

 he painted it so as roughly to resemble the real egg. 

 This he put back in the nest, and by means of it induced 

 the bird to continue laying until she had placed six eggs 

 at his disposal. This was more than her complement, 

 and she must have matured and laid one or two eggs 

 more than she would have done had she been permitted 

 to follow the natural course of incubation. About the 

 same time he discovered another hawk's nest, and one 

 belonging to a wild pigeon. Painting the pigeon's eggs 

 in imitation of the hawk's he took away the originals from 

 the nest of the hawk and replaced them with thehypocrites, 

 leaving them to be hatched out by the bird of prey, 

 should it not discover the deception. In due time the 

 youngster repaired to the hawk's nest on which the poor, 

 deceived mother was sitting so closely that he was 

 enabled to ensconse himself among the branches and 

 watch her conduct. She was pecking sharply at some- 

 thing under her, which turned out to be the eggs just 

 chipping, the occupants of which she was assisting to 

 make their exit Unfortunately he was not able to see 

 the finale, as, although the young birds were there next 

 day, they had entirely disappeared the following again. 

 The disgust of the rapacious birds must have been ex- 

 treme to find their choicest morsels rejected by the little 

 seed-eaters, and they may have ended by devouring the 

 ungrateful creatures that could not accommodate them- 

 selves to their altered circumstances, and pined under 

 the "burden of an honour unto which they were not 

 born." 



Here were these wild, keen-witted birds deceived like 

 barn-door fowls by a bit of painted wood, and the rudely 

 painted eggs of their faint-hearted neighbours ! 



