182 BIRDS FASCINATED BY HUMAN EYE. [PART II, 
to vomit. Whether he really did so I did not 
observe. It was not until we had gone some dis- 
tance that the dog would do anything (in the way 
of work) again.” I had previously always ima- 
gined dogs to be stink-proof. It must indeed have 
been one of no ordinary intensity which could 
thus affect them. 
The fascination which the human eye exercises 
upon birds is very remarkable, and is susceptible 
of the following simple proof, which I found out 
in my bird-trap-setting days. If you hold a Robin 
steadily by the upper part of the legs a few inches 
from your face and look fixedly at him, you will 
obtain complete possession of his attention, and 
his eyes will become riveted upon yours. If then, 
keeping your hand perfectly still, you move your 
face away from him, he will protrude his head to 
its utmost stretch; and in a similar manner, on 
your advancing your head, he will again withdraw 
his, so as to keep his eyes, as far as possible, at 
the same distance from yours. It may be as well 
to be careful as to the choice of the kind of bird 
upon which such an experiment is tried, as some 
of the hard-billed birds might be inclined to 
reverse the order of things, and try their own 
powers upon your eyes. A Heron, for instance, 
