156 Bird Comrades 



slipped in to see that all was safe. You see, the ill-bred 

 sparrows had been glaring at the little madam as she sat 

 on her nest, which was a piece of impertinence that no 

 self-respecting bird could endure with equanimity. 



The English sparrows are not the only birds that dis- 

 turb the harmony of the bird realm. Offenders must 

 needs come there as well as in the human sphere. A 

 friend who is entirely trustworthy tells me the following 

 story. He and his wife were driving along a country 

 road, when their attention was directed to a kingbird 

 in hot pursuit of a red-headed woodpecker, which had 

 evidently been poaching on the first-named bird's pre- 

 serves. Being an expert flyer, the kingbird had almost 

 overtaken the fugitive, when suddenly the red-head 

 wheeled to one side, flung himself somehow or other over 

 a telegraph wire, turning at the same time and catching 

 with his claws at the wire, where he clung, his body bent 

 in an arc, holding his enemy at bay with his long, pointed 

 beak and spiny tail. Of course, the martin could not 

 attack him in that position, as he could not afford to run 

 the risk of being impaled on the red-head's spear. 



Nor was that all. The martin sailed a short distance 

 away, and the woodpecker thought it safe to take to 

 wing again. The kingbird again started in swift pursuit, 

 filling the air with his loud chirping, sure of his game this 

 time; but he was balked, as before, by the red-head's 

 sudden dash to the telegraph wire. This little comedy 

 was repeated several times while my friends watched 

 with surprise and amusement. 



