168 SYLVIAD^. 



on a finger, deliberately prepare himself for sleep : which on one occasion he indulged 

 in so long, as to completely weary his perch. He would eat off my lap, hop about 

 there without any concern, pick at my shawl, and then look up in my face and begin 

 his little song, or prattle ; occasionally he became quite coquettish, disregarding my 

 call, while sitting on a high branch and only descending at his leisure, with a digni- 

 fied hop — hop, from twig to twig, as if quite aware of how much I was his humble 

 servant. Finding that neither Cresty, nor Big-eye, visited the terrace, but that we 

 always found them waiting for us, either in the garden, or in the melon-pit enclosure, 

 we began to suspect there was some appropriation of landed property amongst the 

 birds, and were soon convinced of the fact, by witnessing grievous battles between our 

 two favourites, Terry and Cresty, the former attacking the latter if he appeared within 

 a certain distance of the terrace, and the latter seizing Terry, if he made any move- 

 ment towards the melon-pit. It would have been amusing, had it not been distress- 

 ing, to view these beauteous little creatures, who seemed only formed for harmony 

 and love, bristling up with rage, every feather like " quills upon the fretful porcupine," 

 eyes on fire, and their tiny heads making circles of defiance before the final collision, 

 which always terminated by our separating the combatants, who retreated severally 

 to their respective districts, — so fierce have they been that they have fought even 

 upon our hands. Terry, though by far the mildest and quietest creature in times of 

 peace, was the most daring and determined in war : he seemed also to have more 

 respect for the rights of property, for Cresty was generally the intruder upon his 

 neighbour. 



We often marvelled, that we had never seen the slightest quarrel take place between 

 Cresty and Big-eye, though we had often perceived frequent trespassing upon what 

 we deemed Cresty's peculiar domain ; the riddle was solved however, in spring, 

 when one day the latter gentleman made himself very busy by snatching a crumb 

 from us at repeated intervals, which he would eagerly carry to a neighbouring hedge. 

 On examining the premises, we saw Mrs. Big-eye, snugly ensconced in her bower, 

 and her gallant Cresty, playing the kind little husband by bringing her food, which 

 she opened her mouth with much satisfaction to receive. Afterwards we watched 

 them both go down to the bank nest the sea, which proved to be the spot selected 

 for their nest. And in process of time (the lady having disappeared altogether), Cresty 

 would carry large cargoes of food to madame and the chicks. Often about this period 

 have we seen both him and Terry, (with green caterpillars caught in their bills, and 

 writhing round their heads like so many small serpents,) hop on our hands, and add 

 to their burthen eight or nine bits of oaten cake, and thus, with bills well packed, fly 

 to their nest. Cresty never was, at any time, so familiar with us as Terry ; his habit 

 was to flutter round the hand for a moment, pick a crumb, and away: but he would 

 occasionally rest for a minute or so, then sit on a flower-pot, or twig, and talk to us. 

 Big-eye never came near us but in the absence of Cresty, and then only to about the 

 distance of half a yard, where she fed quietly and securely on the crumbs we threw 

 down to her, — and when this pair brought their young ones abroad, they kept close 

 to the hedge and seemed to inherit the shyness of their parents. But not so, the 

 progeny of our sweet Terry, who were careless and confiding ; their mother never 

 came near us, and we have sad reason to believe that she met with some untoward 



