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Hints to Audubon Workers. 



her about from limb to limb to be on hand 

 in case anything should happen. It was 

 very evident that he did not sympathize 

 with her fears, as he neither cried out nor 

 jerked his tail; and after he had chased her 

 here and there, up and down, back and 

 forth, for some time, he turned toward her 

 on the branch and looked at her as much 

 as to say, "Oh! you tiresome creature; why 

 will you be so absurd? Don't you see 

 they're not going to hurt you?" 



His contempt had no effect, however, 

 and — he opened his mouth at her! This 

 threat of conjugal authority subdued her, 

 and at last she meekly flew off into the 

 woods with him. 



LEAST FLYCATCHER. 



If you have been in the country, or even 

 in some of our smaller towns during the 

 spring and summer, you have probably 

 noticed the reiteration of a peculiarly abrupt 

 call of two notes — a c he-beck' c he-beck' com- 

 ing from the apple trees and undergrowth. 

 If you have followed it up you have dis- 

 covered a small gray bird, in coat and 

 habit a miniature of the phoebe and wood 

 pewee, jerking his tail and whole body with 

 his emphatic call. 



This small bird seems to be a piquant 

 satire on the days of tournament and joust, 

 when knights started out with leveled lances 

 to give battle to every one they met. He 

 is a fearless little warrior, snapping his bill 

 ominously as he charges, full tilt, at his 

 enemy. 



Last summer I heard this snapping, to- 

 gether with loud calls of che-beck', coming 

 from a thicket, and went to see what was 

 going on. There, in a low willow, I found 

 a family of young, sunning themselves 

 while their mother brought them their din- 

 ner. It seemed a very peaceable scene, but 

 a picket fence ran along just back of the 



willow, and I soon discovered that this was 

 the tilt yard. Whenever a song sparrow or 

 pewee happened to light there, and stretch 

 its wings for a sun bath, the fierce little 

 mother would suddenly appear, dart at the 

 inoffensive bird, and fairly throw him off 

 the fence with the abruptness of her on- 

 set. 



After unseating her enemy she would 

 fly off as fast as she had come, career about 

 in the air till she had snapped up a fly or 

 miller, dart back, thrust it into one of the 

 open mouths with a jab that threatened to 

 decapitate the little one, and seemed to 

 mean, "There, take it quick if you've got to 

 have it," and with a flirt of the tail and 

 wings, before I had time for a second look, 

 would be off in hot pursuit of another in- 

 sect. 



I wanted to see if she would be afraid of 

 me, and so crept up by the fence, almost un- 

 der the little birds. Two of them sat there 

 side by side, in the most affectionate man- 

 ner, nestling down on the branch and show- 

 ing their soft white feathers to the best 

 advantage. They did not mind me, and 

 closed their eyes as if the warm sunlight 

 made them sleepy. All of a sudden their 

 mother flew up to one of them with a fly, 

 but the sight of me startled her so that 

 instead of giving it to him she sprang up on 

 top of his head and was off like a flash, al- 

 most tumbling him off from the branch, and 

 leaving him looking very much scared and 

 bewildered. As soon as her nerves re- 

 covered from the shock, she came back again 

 and went on with her work as if I had not 

 been there. 



The father seemed to be as restless and 

 pugnacious as the mother, and, if appear- 

 ances were to be trusted, was quarreling 

 with his neighbors in a tree near by, while 

 his wife guarded the picket and fed her 

 young. 



Florence A. Merriam. 



