MY NEIGHBOUR'S BIRD STORIES 81 



by, about two hours after the commotion, they 

 both flew away to the fields together, and no 

 sooner were they gone than the bird they had 

 robbed, keeping guard on his tree, flew straight 

 to the nest they had left, and after what appeared 

 like a careful examination took hold of a stick 

 and tugged vigorously until he succeeded in pulling 

 it out. With the stick in his beak he flew back 

 to his nest and proceeded to adjust it in the 

 fabric. 



What would happen now, Mr. Redburn asked, 

 when the dishonest couple came back and dis- 

 covered that they had been deprived of their loot ? 

 He watched for their return with keen interest, and 

 by and by they came, and, to his astonishment, 

 nothing happened. They settled on their nest, 

 looked it over in the usual way to see that it was 

 as they had left it, and although they no doubt 

 saw that it was not so they made no fuss. 



The most remarkable thing in all this affair was, 

 to Mr. Redburn's mind, that the robbed birds 

 appeared to know so well who the thief was and 

 where the stick could be looked for. 



To me it was remarkable that my neighbour, 

 who " knew nothing about birds," had yet, in one 

 day's watching, succeeded in seeing something 

 which throws a stronger light on the law of the 

 rookery than any single observation contained in 

 the ornithological books. 



In this case, as he relates it, the robbed birds 

 appeared to know very well who the culprits were 



G 



