THE FINCH FAMILY. 81 



A couple of feet or so below this he places some 

 bird-limed twigs or whalebone, on the ground close 

 by his little cage. He then gives out a rattling 

 challenge, answered at once by the bird in the tree, 

 whose quick eyes search in all directions for his 

 supposed rival. He soon discovers the singer, and 

 his excitement at any other bird having the impu- 

 dence to come and sing near his perch is extreme. 

 Once more the challenge rings out ; he can bear 

 it no longer. Down he dashes, strikes the stuffed 

 bird, causing it to sway up and down with the force 

 of his stroke ; and falling on the limed twigs below, 

 finds himself at the foot of the tree, a helpless 

 captive. 



I have known country lanes, before the Bird 

 Protection Act came into force, cleared of chaf- 

 finches, to the great disgust and anger of the 

 country people. Though obliged for the protec- 

 tion of their crops to shoot them at times, they 

 are far from willing to see them captured in this 

 wholesale way. 



Real country folk are very tender in their deal- 

 ings with the birds that live near them. In the 

 course of my experience, extending over many 



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