364 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
Beyond the field the wood again stretches onward. Here a 
lively troop of wandering Fieldfares (Krammetsvogel) have settled in 
some firs, and cannot tell enough of the northern home they have so 
recently left, and of the adventures of the journey. There is no 
end of chattering; merry and light-hearted are they, like all 
travellers. 
Through the happy chatter of the Fieldfares sounds the angry 
scolding of a quarrelsome Jay (Holzschreier). ‘‘ Herr Markwart,” 
as the country people call him, flies trom tree to tree with crest 
erect and blue-banded wing. This crafty marauding bird—this 
declared enemy to all singing birds, whose eggs and young he is 
always ready to devour—thus tries to attract the attention of the 
noisy travellers. As none of them, however, regard his scolding, 
he flies off through the wood with loud mocking cries. 
On the branches of yonder old gnarled oak tree, which seems 
to mourn for its giant companions of former days, a Nuthatch 
(Blauspecht) runs up and down to the twitter of a Tree Creeper 
(Baumléufer), at work lower down on the trunk. A little further 
on the forester has spread his nets. An unfortunate Robin 
(Rothkehlchen) has been caught in them, its taste for berries having 
caused it to be punished with the persecuted Thrushes (Drosseln). 
The poor Thrushes themselves, which rejoice us the whole 
summer with their songs, and for whose destruction these nets 
are spread, fall into undeserved condemnation. In a district 
much damaged by larve I have seen Thrushes collected in great 
numbers searching busily for them in the moss. At least the 
resident and breeding birds ought to be spared, and the nets 
should be set a little later in the year, when our woodland birds 
are gone to the south; arrivals from the north are then coming 
in sufficient numbers to satisfy the epicure, and to enable the 
foresters to gain enough by catching them. 
In the depths of the dark forest, on a mighty fir tree, a pair of 
our largest Eagles (Seeadler) have taken up their abode. The 
male bird has flown to the lake to fish ; his mate is busily engaged 
in repairing their gigantic nest. The remains of prey, which lie 
strewn about, show that the pair have made quite a raid amongst 
both warm- and cold-blooded animals of wood and water. There 
we find the bones of young roes, hares, wild ducks, and good- 
sized fishes. While we are still occupied in looking at the 
remnants of the feast, the male bird returns. Slowly, and with — 
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