82 WOODLAND CREATURES 



which makes a row need never be feared, but the 

 stirring of a leaf, or the trembling of a grass blade 

 may mean danger at hand, so most small birds 

 trust their eyes in preference to their ears, and 

 fly off at any unexpected movement among their 

 surroundings. 



As the bullfinch had been very startled by the 

 shaking of the front of the " hide/' and as I also 

 had an idea that she knew I was hidden inside 

 it, I crept out and went away for a while, to give 

 her time to recover her confidence. It was 12.30 

 when I came back, and hotter than ever, the 

 flies droning more drowsily than before, pigeons 

 cooing as if they had hardly the energy to call, 

 and only one or two warblers singing dreamily 

 in the bushes. But the hen bullfinch was quite 

 wide awake, and slipped off the nest, and away 

 into the fir trees, before I got near the tent. I 

 heard her calling to her mate, and feel sure they 

 both watched me get into the "hide/' They must 

 have known I had not gone away, yet I had hardly 

 tucked myself in, and set the shutter of the camera, 

 than I heard them calling close at hand, and then 

 the twittering that denoted they were coming 

 back to the nest. Almost at the same moment 

 the hen came fluttering by, went straight to the 

 nest, and settled down on the eggs. Now how 

 is one to understand that ? Was it bravery ? 

 Or was it want of brains ? Because they could 

 not see me, did they think I must have been 

 swallowed up by the ground ? We may imagine 

 that it was a case of " out of sight, out of mind/' 



