Songs of the Fields 



is their throne-room. So ahly do they defend it 

 that never in all my life ha\'e I seen a pair con- 

 (juered or their nest despoiled. The king is not 

 sncli a large bird — smaller than a robin, of robin- 

 gray, with a Avhite throat and black tail having a 

 "white tip; but he is stoutly built, jjlump, and pugil- 

 istic, and of truly remarkal:)le agility on wing. He 

 has a smoky, black, rounding crest, and wings of 

 the same color. Kingbirds give their young the 

 worms that feed on grass blades, small flies, and 

 moths that flutter close to the ground. They ])er- 

 forni a varietj' of acrobatics on wing in search of 

 food, 2)oising over orchard and meadow hunting 

 l^rc}', and darting after it in headlong flight, with 

 indescribable turnings and twistings of tireless 

 wings. 



This habit of food-catching in air j^repares 

 them for the battles they wage on wing, for so 

 agile are they, so hardy, and of such unfaltering 

 courage, that they attack anything threatening 

 their nests. I have seen them chase crows, dusky 

 falcons, and in one case a large hawk, in pell-mell 

 flight across the sky, and their deft twistings en- 

 abled them to escape luiharmed, Avhile they darted 

 savagely at heads and eyes and put their enemies 

 completely to rout. "^Yith any bird close their own 

 size — a mewling catbird or a jay wanting a newly- 

 hatched nestling for desert — they make quick dis- 

 posal. 



261 



