BIKDS AND THE AETS 121 



sometimes softly touching the glass with his bill, appear- 

 ing slightly bewildered by the contact. If food is thrown 

 to him he takes no notice, unless it is close to the glass, 

 when he will hurriedly gobble it up and return to his more 

 congenial employment in haste, as though vexed at being 

 interrupted. If the glass is taken into the drawing-room, 

 which is on the ground floor looking into the garden, he 

 will enter the room by door or window, find the glass, and 

 continue his favourite pursuit ; and he spends the greater 

 part of the day at the door that leads from the drawing- 

 room into the garden, in the hope that some one may 

 bring out his glass for him. Meanwhile the peahen is 

 sitting on a nest of eggs in a hedge close at hand. He 

 never goes near her, his only idea being to find oppor- 

 tunities for contemplating his own perfections. I suppose 

 that the proverb " As vain as a peacock " refers to the 

 bird's habit of spreading his tail and strutting about; but 

 it is curious to find that this instinctive vanity lies deeper 

 still, and is not confined to the desire to arouse the admira- 

 tion of his mate, as is generally taken for granted, but is 

 based upon a genuine complacency and an almost morbid 

 consciousness of his personal attractions. 



ARTHUR C. BENSON. 



July 18 1908. 



NOTE. He could admire worse, and at least his vanity 

 was the measure of his good taste. Had Narcissus had 

 the sense to identify the lovely image with himself, he 

 might have lived to enjoy his own charms for as long as 

 I hope Mr. Benson's illustrious bird was enraptured with 

 his. " The pride of the peacock is the glory of God. * ' 



BIRDS AND THE ART OF FLIGHT 



In confirmation of your correspondent " E. T." in 

 last week's Spectator, I would point out that many birds 

 other than the skylark and rook will fly for pleasure and 

 amusement. The aerial evolutions of flocks of starlings, 



