BIRD ENEMIES. 13 



perched upon the riin of the nest, hastily devouring 

 the eggs. I soon regretted my precipitation in kill' 

 ing her, because such interference is generally unwise. 

 It turned out that she had a nest of her own with five 

 eggs, in a spruce-tree near my window. 



Then this pair of little fly-catchers did what I had 

 never seen birds do before ; they pulled the nest to 

 pieces and rebuilt it in a peach-tree not many rodi> 

 away, where a brood was successfully reared. The 

 nest was here exposed to the direct rays of the noon- 

 day sun, and to shield her young when the heat was 

 greatest, the mother-bird would stand above them 

 with wings slightly spread, as other birds have beei* 

 :«iown to do under like circumstances. 



To what extent the cat-bird is a nest-robber I have 

 ao evidence, but that feline mew of hers, and that 

 flirting, flexible tail, suggest something not entirely 

 bird-like. 



Probably the darkest tragedy of the nest is enacted 

 when a snake plunders it. All birds and animals, so 

 far as I have observed, behave in a peculiar manner 

 toward a snake. They seem to feel something of the 

 same loathing toward it that the human species expe* 

 riences. The bark of a dog when he encounters a 

 snake is different from that which he gives out on 

 any other occasion ; it is a mingled note of alarm, 

 inquiry, and disgust. 



One day a tragedy was enacted a few yards fron? 

 where I was sitting with a book ; two song-sparrowfe 

 were trying to defend their nest against a black 

 snake. The curious, interrogating note of a chicken 

 who had suddenly come upon the scene in his walk- 

 first caused me to look up from my reading. There 

 were the sparrows, with wings raised in a way pecu* 



