THE PLAY OP ANIMALS. 129 



that, as autumn comes on, the redstart and their 

 young may be seen chasing and teasing one another. 

 Scheitlin tells of a tame stork "that very easily made 

 friends, especially with children, and would even play 

 with them, running after them with outstretched wings 

 and catching hold of their coats or sleeves with his bill, 

 and then back, looking round to see if the children 

 followed. It would wait to be caught by the wing and 

 then start after the children again. This scene was 

 repeated as often as the children played ' catcher ^ in 

 the street." * A. Giinzel relates of a tame and trained 

 magpie: "At the time of the morning recess she went 

 to the playground of the school children, especially of 

 the boys, to look on while they romped. She expressed 

 her pleasure by hopping about excitedly and snapping 

 her bill. The boys loved to tease her. She would 

 stretch her long tail out, and when any one tried to 

 touch it, spring so nimbly to one side that they never 

 succeeded in catching her. Even I could not touch her 

 then, though at other times she was quite docile. She 

 enjoyed this play, and would follow any one who caught 

 at her tail in order to repeat the game." f The older 

 Brehm relates of the golden-crested wren: " This little 

 bird carries on a strange performance in the fall, from 

 the beginning of September to the end of Xovember. 

 It begins by calling out repeatedly *^Si,si!^ whirls around, 

 and flaps its wings. Others answer to the call, and they 

 collect, all going through the same motions. From two 

 to six usually play together." | 



" The woodpecker," writes "\Valter, " is an enthusias- 

 tic player, and often has his parents as playmates. A 



* XanmaTin, iii. p. 581. 



+ Die pefiederte Welt, 1887. 



X Chr. L. Brehm, Beitrage zur Vogelkimde, ii, p. 126. 



