142 BIRD LIFE ON ISLAND AND SHORE 
like the present,—I waited to see more of the 
stranger whose proximity could be detected by 
stir of the vegetation into which it had pitched, 
shivering of fronds, rustle of rough sedge. After 
many momentary, tantalising glimpses of the bird, 
which was feeding in company of a mate—I 
could hear them talking,—one of the pair crossed 
the path, affording a good view, and corroborating 
what I had suspected as to species. A few minutes 
later the second bird, evidently the male, followed, 
and at once became engaged in warfare with 
another male, these Lilliputians fighting only a 
few yards from the tree trunk against which I 
stood. There was something in the air of the 
victor and in the determination with which he 
hustled the trespasser off his domain which showed 
how keen was his desire for seclusion. 
In the bird world, too, there are vested interests, 
and the tenacity with which an owner will uphold 
his rights usually gives him the victory in any- 
thing like an even match. I judged there must 
be some special reason for my small companion’s 
wrath, and I was right, for by the time my mates 
had boiled the billy I had thrice noticed one of 
of the pair disappear beneath a particular iron- 
wood bole. Farther than that I failed to follow 
the bird. The locality, however, was close to our 
hut, and during the next two or three days all 
odd quarter and half hours were devoted to the 
