BIRD ENEMIES. 237 



I have remarked above that there is probably very 

 little truth in the popular notion that snakes can 

 " charm " birds. But two of my correspondents have 

 each furnished me with an incident from his own ex- 

 perience, which seems to confirm the popular belief. 

 One of them writes from Georgia as follows : 



" Some twenty-eight years ago I was in Calaveras 

 County, California, engaged in cutting lumber. One 

 day in coming out of the camp or cabin, my attention 

 was attracted to the curious action of a quail in the 

 air, which, instead of flying low and straight ahead as 

 usual, was some fifty feet high, flying in a circle, and 

 uttering cries of distress. I watched the bird and 

 saw it gradually descend, and following with my eye 

 in a line from the bird to the ground saw a large 

 snake with head erect and some ten or twelve inches 

 above the ground, and mouth wide open, and as far 

 as I could see, gazing intently on the quail (I was 

 about thirty feet from the snake). The quail gradu- 

 ally descended, its circles growing smaller and smaller 

 and all the time uttering cries of distress, until its feet 

 were within two or three inches of the mouth of the 

 snake ; when I threw a stone, and though not hitting 

 the snake, yet struck the ground so near as to frighten 

 him, and he gradually started off. The quail, how- 

 ever, fell to the ground, apparently lifeless. I went 

 forward and picked it up and found it was thoroughly 

 overcome with fright, its little heart beating as if it 

 would burst through the skin. After holding it in 

 my hand a few moments it flew away. I then tried 



