THE KINGBIRD 
By T. GILBERT PEARSON 
The National Association of Audubon Societies 
Educational Leaflet No. 81 
I As I made my way one spring morning among the clump of reeds 
along the margin of a southern lake, keeping a sharp lookout for the 
[deadly water-moccasin snakes, I was startled by an unusual sound. It 
i! seemed to come from overhead, and just a little behind me. Turning, I 
j beheld a Hawk darting sharply downward, and only a few feet in front 
of it a little Spotted Sandpiper was fleeing for its life. By the smallest 
I fraction of a second the Sandpiper avoided the murderous clutch of its 
enemy, and then dashed into a thin growth of grass. The Hawk veered 
A KINGBIRD’S NEST AND EGGS 
From a Photograph by A. D. Whedon 
sharply upward, wheeled around, paused an instant on outstretched wingSj 
and then, catching sight of its prey, was in the act of plunging again, 
when, like a bolt from a clear sky, something struck it in the back. This 
something proved to be a small black-and-white bird, which, with sharp, 
clattering notes and snapping bill, struck continually at the great hawk 
many times its size. 
The hawk at once forgot how hungry it was, and lost sight of the 
panting, frightened sandpiper, which lay almost helpless on the ground 
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