BIRDS' NESTS. 121 



fe what an odd name for a bird ! I suppose it 

 kills other birds/' 



" Indeed it does not bear a very good name. 

 Naturalists say that it frequently catches a bird 

 smaller than itself, and after killing it by re- 

 peated blows of its bill on the head, fixes it on 

 a thorn, or jams it into the fork of a tree, and 

 devours it bit by bit. He may often be seen 

 perched on the endof a twig, watching anxiously 

 for his prey, which is usually a cockchafer, or 

 some other kind of beetle. Suddenly he darts 

 off, hovers in the air like a hawk, and having 

 seized some unhappy insect, bears it away to 

 the nearest hawthorn bush, fixes it on a thorn, 

 and devours all but the hard wing-cases. The 

 little birds seem to be aware of his murderous 

 habits, for they sometimes hunt him, and scold 

 at him, as they do a hawk, or an owl when he 

 ventures out by day." 



Another nest was obtained soon afterw r ards, 

 that of a missel-thrush. It had been built in 

 the fork of a crab-tree, not very far from the 



