190 WITH NATURE AND A CAMERA. 



path, and of the two remaining in the nest, which 

 was sadly torn about and dishevelled, one had a 

 great hole pierced in its side. 



Sparrows, in their turn, suffer from the dis- 

 honesty of Starlings, by which they are sometimes 

 robbed of cosy holes they have taken much pains 

 to make in the sides of hayricks. I once saw a 

 Starling eject a pair of Sparrows from their nest 

 in one of the divisions of a barrel -shaped pigeon- 

 cote erected on the top of a pole. It was quite 

 comical to see the usurper stand defiantly in the 

 doorway of the house she had taken possession of, 

 whilst the rightful owners talked loudly at a safe 

 distance from her beak, or fluttered round without 

 getting help or heed from a dozen neighbours 

 sharing the same cote. When the Starling flew 

 out, the ejected tenants hotly pursued her in a 

 make-believe attempt at administering some whole- 

 some chastisement, but she took not the slightest 

 notice of their threats, and returned again uncon- 

 cernedly at her leisure. 



A pair of Starlings took possession of a Sparrow's 

 nest built in a rose tree trained against the wall of 

 a farmhouse near Shenley, in Hertfordshire, last 

 spring, and reared their young in it. 



A year or two ago, whilst my brother was 

 trying to photograph a Song Thrush in the act of 

 feeding her young in Mull, he was astonished to see 

 a Wren hop up and boldly pull a piece of moss out 

 of the side of the Thrush's nest and fly off with it. 



I have watched Rooks steal sticks from each 

 other's nests on several occasions, and once saw 

 one endeavour to pilfer twigs from a Heron's nest 

 close by her own, and receive a measure of well- 

 deserved punishment for her dishonesty from the 

 infuriated owner. 



