NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 113 



a mother, is no longer that placid bird she used to be, but with feathers 

 standing an end, wings hovering, and clocking note, she runs about like 

 one possessed. Dams will throw themselves in the way of the greatest 

 danger in order to avert it from their progeny. Thus a partridge will 

 tumble along before a sportsman in order 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 an 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 suffer 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 clefts of the rocks to chase away the kestril, 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 fondness, but will 

 wait about at a distance with meat in her mouth for an hour together. 



Should I farther corroborate what I have advanced above by some 

 anecdotes which I probably may have mentioned before in conversation, 

 yet you will, I trust, pardon the repetition for the sake of the illustration. 



The fly catcher 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 inadvertently placed their nest on a naked 

 bough, perhaps in a shady time, not being aware of the inconvenience 

 that followed. But an hot sunny season coming on before the brood 

 was half fledged, the reflection of the wall became insupportable, and 

 must inevitably have destroyed the tender young, had not affection 

 suggested an expedient, and prompted the parent-birds to hover over the 

 nest all the hotter hours, while with wings expanded, and mouths gaping 

 fofc'breath, they screened off the heat from their suffering offspring. 



A farther instance I once saw of notable sagacity in a willow-wren, 

 which had built in a bank in my fields. This bird a friend and myself 

 had observed as she sat in her nest ; but were particularly careful not 

 to disturb her, though we saw 

 she eyed us with some degree 

 of jealousy. Some days after 

 as we passed that way we were 

 desirous of remarking how 

 this brood went on ; but no 

 nest could be found, till I 

 happened to take up a large 

 bundle of long green moss, as it 

 were, carelessly thrown over the 

 nest in order to dodge the eye 

 of any impertinent intruder. 



A still more remarkable 

 mixture of sagacity and in- 

 stinct occurred to me one day SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. 

 as my people were pulling off the lining of an hotbed, in order 



* Muscicapa gi'isold,. 



