THE SEVEN SISTERS. 21 



1}he hawk could receive its master's assistance, and 

 on another, one of the Babblers was caught by hand 

 as it clung to the back of its relative's murderer. 

 No one, so far as I am aware, has recorded behaviour 

 anything like this on the part of our song-thrush 

 {Turdus musicus), who appears to be rather a coward, 

 -although his near relative the missel-thrush {Turdus 

 viscivorus) will show fight boldly in defence of his 

 home and mate. And with regard to these Babblers 

 courage appears to be a variable quality even in this 

 particular species ; for Dr. Jerdon expressly states 

 that the Jungle Babbler will not attack a trained hawk 

 .flown at the flock as the bolder Mahratta Babbler 

 {Argya malcolmi) will. Dehra Dun, therefore, where 

 the above incident occurred, must be inhabited by 

 a peculiarly warlike clan of Crateropus canorus, and 

 certainly they are very numerous there and obtru- 

 sively noisy. That sociability is a passion with the 

 species no one who has studied it can doubt ; I have 

 kept several, and have found that they almost 

 invariably exhibited the spirit of the poet's goldfinch, 

 who 



' ' A prison with a jriend preferred 



To liberty without." 

 If one found himself outside the cage which 

 ■contained the happy family, he " did his possible " to 

 ^et in again without any thought of escape. It may 



