I. THE ROBIN. 25 



a singularly unpleasant operation for the worm, 

 however fastidiously delicate and exemplary 

 in the.jobin. But' I suppose the real mean- 

 ing fs, that as a worm lives by passing earth 

 through its bod}^ the robin merely compels 

 it to quit this — not ill-gotten, indeed, but now 

 quite unnecessary — wealth. We human crea- 

 tures, who have lived the lives of worms, col- 

 lecting dust, are served by Death in exactly 

 the ^ame manner. 



23. You will find that the robin's beak, then, 

 is a very prettily representative one' of general 

 bird power. As a weapon, it is very formidable 

 indeed; he can kill an adversary of his own 

 kind with one blow of it in the throat; and is 

 so pugnacious, " valde pugnax," says Linnaeus, 

 " ut non una arbor duos capiat erithacos," — 

 " no single tree can hold two cock-robins ; " 

 and for precision of seizure, the little flat hook 

 at the end of the upper mandible is one of the 

 most delicately formed points of forceps which 

 you can find among the grain eaters. But I 

 pass to one of his more special perfections. 



24. He is very notable in the exquisite 

 silence and precision of his movements, as 

 opposed to birds who either creak in flying, or 



