182 BIRDS FASCINATED BY HUMAN EYE. [PART II. 



to vomit. Whether he really did so I did not 

 observe. It was not until we had gone some dis- 

 tance that the dog would do anything (in the way 

 of work) again." I had previously always ima- 

 gined dogs to be stink-proof. It must indeed have 

 been one of no ordinary intensity which could 

 thus affect them. 



The fascination which the human eye exercises 

 upon birds is very remarkable, and is susceptible 

 of the following simple proof, which I found out 

 in my bird-trap-setting days. If you hold a Robin 

 steadily by the upper part of the legs a few inches 

 from your face and look fixedly at him, you will 

 obtain complete possession of his attention, and 

 his eyes will become riveted upon yours. If then, 

 keeping your hand perfectly still, you move your 

 face away from him, he will protrude his head to 

 its utmost stretch ; and in a similar manner, on 

 your advancing your head, he will again withdraw 

 his, so as to keep his eyes, as far as possible, at 

 the same distance from yours. It may be as well 

 to be careful as to the choice of the kind of bird 

 upon which such an experiment is tried, as some 

 of the hard-billed birds might be inclined to 

 reverse the order of things, and try their own 

 powers upon your eyes. A Heron, for instance, 



