Birds by Land and Sea 



seizes him by the feathers of the nape, and " sinks " 

 him hurtling through the branches. 



There is another source of anxiety for the old 

 birds when repairing their nests the young birds of 

 the former season. The latter persist in claiming a 

 right of approach to the nest in which they were 

 reared, despite the fact that they generally have with 

 them sons or daughters from neighbouring nests as 

 prospective consorts. We have many such young 

 birds in our rookeries, where the practice of yearly 

 shooting them off just before they are ready for 

 flight is little observed. The consequence is that, 

 while the old nests are being repaired, several 

 couples of these young birds sit around, occasionally 

 mobbing the old lady on guard, whom they no 

 doubt regard as a most unnatural mother. Then 

 the father returns, and deals out rough justice ; and 

 any one who has heard him fifty yards away snap off 

 stout twigs for the nest, can well imagine that when 

 he tweaks their feathers with his strong beak, the 

 sting at the other end must gradually convince his 

 discarded offspring that home is not the place it 

 used to be. But the lesson is hard to learn, and for 

 days these young birds take their punishment, only 

 to fly around and alight again on the same branch, 

 there to indulge in idle revilings of the parents who 

 have cut them adrift. 



From time to time one of these young birds gets 

 a stick of his own, and there is a tremendous flutter 

 of excitement among the young couples at this 



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