THE LIFE ABOUT THE NEST 



have very diflferently when their nests are discovered. 

 A Cuckoo will glide away instantly and will make no 

 effort to dispute your possession of her treasures. A 

 Crow will also fly off, and so will a Wild Duck and 

 some others. On the other hand, the Mockingbird, 

 Robin, or Shrike, will raise a great outcry and bring 

 about her half the birds of the neighbourhood to pour 

 out on you their vials of wrath, unless you have the 

 good judgment to retire at once to a respectful dis- 

 tance. Warblers will flit from bush to bush uttering 

 cries of distress and showing their uneasiness. The 

 Mourning Dove, Nighthawk, and many others will 

 feign lameness and seek to lead you away in a vain 

 pursuit. A still larger number will employ the same 

 means of deception after the young have been 

 hatched, as, for example, the Quail, Killdeer, Sand- 

 piper, and Grouse. 



However much a bird may resent your intrusion 



on the privacy of its sanctuary, it is very rare for one 



to attack you. I remember, however, a boy who 



once had the bad manners to put his hand into a 



[25] 



