140 INSTINCT IN BIRDS. 
always been half stunned, while this bird was not in the least 
bewildered. : 
Another instance I noticed while studying the habits of 
the American Osprey or Fish Hawk (Pandion haliaétus caro- 
linensis) in Fall River, Mass. The farmers in that vicinity, 
being mostly fishermen, have decided objections to having 
the Ospreys disturbed. They claim that the bird. does no 
harm whatever, which is very true, and besides that they 
show where the fish are. However, wishing to secure one 
or two sets of their eggs as specimens, I climbed to an in- 
habited nest, and was surprised to see the bird fly from it to 
a farm-house that stood some thousand yards distant. She 
had whistled a few times on leaving the nest ; but, on coming 
nearly over the house, she commenced a series of whistling 
screams that sounded very ominous to me. It was not two 
minutes before several farmers armed with clubs appeared 
and asked me, in no very polite terms, regarding my back 
and head, to descend or take the consequences. As soon 
as the farmers reached the tree, the bird became almost 
silent, evidently knowing perfectly well that she had nothing 
to fear. 
The habit of the Yellow Warbler (Dendroica estiva) of 
building a double and sometimes even a triple nest to avoid 
hatching the egg of the Cowbird (Molothrus ater) is too well 
known to be more than mentioned in this connection. 
Another peculiar instinct is that of destruction of their 
own eggs, which seems to seize some birds if their nests are 
even looked into by man. One special case of this kind 
that came under my notice was a nest of nine eggs of the 
Virginia Rail (Rallus virgintanus). JI had in no way dis- 
turbed either nest or eggs; yet, upon passing by it some five 
minutes after having found it, I saw the bird standing among 
the eggs and stabbing them with her long bill. I quickly 
interfered, but not before she had demolished three eggs and 
thrust her bill completely through another without otherwise 
injuring it. I have the nest and six eggs (among them the 
