Chirps and 
Chatter. 
(179) THE BIRD WORLD. 
fro among the branches in search of 
insects, seemed to have a great deal to 
say. No doubt the uncommon abund¬ 
ance of worms and moisture-loving in¬ 
sects has made the birds particularly 
light of heart this past summer. 
A Descendant of Gilbert White. 
The Earl of Stamford, who narrowly 
escaped drowning recently whilst feeding 
some Swans in the grounds of Dunham 
Massey Hall, ought least of all men to 
have suffered as the result of his kind¬ 
ness to the dumb creation, seeing that 
he is a lineal descendant of Gilbert 
White, the fine old naturalist of Sel- 
borne. How this comes about his lord- 
ship once took the trouble to explain to 
a meeting of the Selborne Society. His 
lordship’s son and heir, little Lord Grey 
of Groby, who will be eleven years old 
in a few weeks, takes his title from the 
distinguished military commander in the 
army of the Parliament, who was the 
cousin of Lady Jane Grey. 
The BUct bird’s Wiles. 
An interesting and significant discovery 
has been made by a friend (writes* a 
correspondent). Into his orchards come 
vast hordes of birds, to work havoc 
with his fruit. When there is a choice, 
the birds seem to departmentalise, so 
that in the sorting out Blackbirds be¬ 
come the special enemies of the cherries. 
Now it is risky work to fire shot among 
birds when they are in the trees; pellets 
may penetrate the fruit; so the 
guardians of the crop have been wont 
to fire blank cartridges, with only a 
charge of shot now and then when the 
chance has been specially favourable. 
In the open, of course, they do blaze 
away with real shots for real results. 
Consequently the sight of a gun strikes 
terror into the hearts of the birds. 
This year the owner was under the im¬ 
pression that his cherries were not being 
so badly attacked as usual, for he 
rarely saw a bird at them. Still, he 
could trace an unaccountable diminu¬ 
tion of his crop. He waited, and 
patiently watched. The Blackbirds 
were still thieving, but upon a new plan. 
They seize a cherry, then, without risk¬ 
ing a shot from the gun, drop instantly 
into the long grass at the foot of the 
tree, eat their prize, and return for a 
repetition of the trick. 
High Flying Swifts. 
The Swift is almost the last bird one 
would expect to meet with on the sum¬ 
mits of some of the highest Scottish 
mountains, and yet on a fine, calm day 
Swifts are to be seen in large numbers 
wheeling over the hillsides, and busily 
engaged in hawking flies. On Loch- 
nagar (3,800 ft.) a lofty precipice faces 
to the east, and a Swift has been ob¬ 
served entering a hole in the rocks with 
straw for nesting purposes. On a visit 
to the latter hill a lover of birds thought 
he might possibly see the birds entering 
the rocks with food for their young; 
but, unfortunately, the precipice Was 
shrouded in mist almost continuously, 
so he had no chance of making observa¬ 
tions. The following day, however,, 
when on the plateau of Ben A’an (over- 
3,800 ft. above sea level), he saw great 
numbers of Swifts soaring around the 
gigantic granite rocks which project at 
intervals from the plateau, but saw no 
signs of any nests, so formed the opinion 
that the birds had only ventured to these 
heights owing to the warmth and still¬ 
ness of the day. All the same, they 
seemed rather out of place in these 
wilds, with a Golden Eagle soaring near 
them and Ptarmigan croaking all around. 
The Swift, although the latest of the 
Swallow family to reach our shores in 
spring, is, nevertheless, the first to de¬ 
part, and after the middle of August 
only a few stragglers are left. 
The Uninvited Guest. 
A bird, at first thought to be a Crow, 
fluttered down the chimney of a cottage 
at Newton. For three-quarters of an 
hour previous to this large quantities of 
soot had kept falling down the chimney, 
and the family dinner was spoilt in con¬ 
sequence. The uninvited guest pitched 
on the hot stove, then fluttered off ex¬ 
hausted, and on being washed proved to* 
be a Pigeon with a marked ring. The 
bird afterwards recovered. 
