PHASES OF BIRD LIFE. 211 



stantial evidence. Yet in defence of the handsome 

 rascal it may be said that he does good in other 

 directions, for he rids the earth of many pestiferous 

 insects. Gladly would I acquit him of all blame if 

 that were possible. 



Mr. Burroughs thinks that birds which have suf- 

 fered at the blue jay's hands — or, rather, beak — 

 often retaliate by destroying the jay's eggs. He 

 found a jay's nest with five eggs, every one of which 

 was punctured, apparently by the sharp bill of some 

 bird, with the sole purpose of destroying them, for 

 no part of their contents had been removed. He 

 suggests that in the bird world the Mosaic law may 

 be, "An egg for an egg," instead of "An eye for an 

 eye." 



The life of young birds hangs on a very brittle 

 thread. A kind of Damocles' sword seems to be 

 dangling over them. What a " slaughter of inno- 

 cents " in a single season ! I think that of the many 

 nests I found during the spring of 1892 fully half 

 were raided. How often, on finding a nest, I have 

 resolved to watch it until the young birds were ready 

 to leave ; but on going back a few days _later, the 

 cradle was rifled of its treasures. These frequent 

 " tragedies of the nests " make the bird-lover sick at 

 heart. It is no paradox to say that many birds are 

 killed before they are born. 



Birds often meet with fatal accidents. They 

 sometimes impale themselves on a thorn, or creep 

 into places in thorn-trees from which they cannot 

 extricate themselves. A robin hung itself one spring 



