136 TALKS ABOUT BIRDS 



another reason why he thought the grand eagle 

 an unsuitable emblem for a free people, since it 

 was not only a bully and a thief, robbing the 

 hard-working osprey or fish-hawk of his prey, 

 but a coward, letting this little bird drive it 

 out of a district. So the king-bird is always 

 a favourite with farmers, who know it will act 

 as a protector of their chickens against all 

 feathered robbers. 



The missel-thrush among our British birds 

 is another enemy to birds of carnivorous habits, 

 and never misses a chance of attacking them, 

 from the stealthy magpie to the fierce sparrow- 

 hawk ; but it behaves rather like those robbers 

 who used to keep others of their trade away 

 and levy " black-mail " from people them- 

 selves, for when food is scarce in winter it will 

 drive other kinds of thrushes away from the 

 berry-trees, so that it can have all the fruit to 

 itself, and in spring it will sometimes steal the 

 broods of other birds, even of its own near 

 relation the song-thrush ; but even then it 

 can fairly claim some consideration from them 

 for keeping away far worse enemies. 



Sometimes many birds will join together 

 against an enemy who is too strong for them 



