to draw away the dogs from her helpless covey. In 

 the time of nidification the most feeble birds will 

 assault the most rapacious. All the hirundines of a 

 village are up in arms at the sight of a hawk, whom 

 they will persecute till he leaves that district. A 

 very exact observer has often remarked that a pair 

 of ravens nesting in the rock of Gibraltar would suf- 

 fer no vulture or eagle to rest near their station, but 

 would drive them from the hill with an amazing 

 fury: even the blue thrush at the season of breeding 

 would dart out from the cliffs of the rocks to chase 

 away the kestrel or the sparrow-hawk. If you stand 

 near the nest of a bird that has young, she will not 

 be induced to betray them by an inadvertent fond- 

 ness, but will wait about at a distance with meat in 

 her mouth for an hour together. 



Should I further corroborate what I have ad- 

 vanced above by some anecdotes which I probably 

 ma}^ have mentioned before in conversation, yet you 

 will, I trust, pardon the repetition for the sake of the 

 illustration. 



The flycatcher of the Zoology (the Stoparola of 

 Ray) builds every year in the vines that grow on the 

 walls of my house. 



A pair of these little birds had one year inadver- 

 tently placed their nest on a naked bough, perhaps in 

 a shady time, not being aware of the inconvenience 

 that followed. But a hot sunny season coming on 



before the brood was half-fledged, the reflection of 



182 



