At Home with Wild Nature 



tality of a common sparrow against that of the three 

 previously mentioned birds any day. 



Mentality is a greater force than moral right in the 

 animal kingdom, I fear. If the ringed plover were to 

 depend upon the latter instead of the former for the 

 protection of her young ones her species would very 

 soon be wiped off the face of the earth. When she sees 

 a marauding gull coming along in search of whatever he 

 can pick up and swallow dead or alive, she knows there 

 is one infallible method of striking terror into his 

 cowardly heart, viz., by flying up and pecking behind 

 and beneath his body. I have seen it done, and heard 

 the gull crying out in abject fear whilst beating a hasty 

 retreat. 



Again, and in final allusion to the venerable French 

 naturalist's moral rights doctrine, which I fear is purely 

 human, who has not seen a pair of idle, old common 

 sparrows gossiping on some housetop, or enjoying a 

 dust bath, whilst a pair of industrious martins laboured 

 hard constructing a wee cradle of mud under a neigh- 

 bouring eave ? No sooner is the nest ready for occupa- 

 tion than in will pop one of the sparrows during the 

 rightful owner's absence, and the human beholder is 

 furnished with an odious example of " might over 

 right." I have on two or three occasions in this and 

 other countries watched these little gutter ruffians hurl 

 house martins' eggs one by one out of the nest and take 

 possession. 



It has been written that in cases of this kind the 

 enraged martins, assisted by neighbours, will fly in 



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