THE KING BIRD. 
103 
bird, until one, more “ lucky ” than the rest, strikes 
the deadly blow. The writer still remembers with 
what sorrowful feelings, when a boy, he once held in 
his hand the body of a Pewee, which with a random 
toss of a stone he had deprived of life. Could all 
children feel as he then felt, how wrong it is wan- 
tonly to destroy that life which all have an equal 
right to enjoy, they would cease to make sport of it, 
and this charming little songster would possess to the 
full that security to which he is justly entitled. 
The Pewee often returns to a favorite summer re- 
sort for several successive years, occupying the same 
nest each season, merely repairing the injuries which 
it has received during the Winter. Audubon speaks 
of his having found the same pair of birds occupying 
a familiar nook in an old cavern which he had been 
accustomed to visit for a number of years. At one 
time he fastened to the legs of each of a brood of 
young birds, the offspring of this pair, a ring of sil- 
ver thread; these they carried about with them for 
some time, and in the following Spring two of them 
were seen in the same vicinity, still wearing the sil- 
ver ring. 
The King Bird, or Tyrant Fly-catcher, is also a 
familiar summer visitant. Although by no means a 
large bird, he is nevertheless gifted with a degree 
of courage that would do justice to the largest of our 
feathered race; and being remarkably quick and ac- 
tive upon the wing, he becomes a formidable enemy 
to such of his neighbors as have the temerity to en- 
croach upon his dominions. In the early part of the 
