Ex Libris 
 C. K. OGDEN
 
 CAT AND BIRD STORIES 
 
 FROM THE "SPECTATOR."
 
 UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME 
 
 SECOND EDITION, ;with Fresh Introduction and New Stories. 
 
 DOG STORIES from " The Spectator." 
 
 Being Anecdotes of the Intelligence, Reasoning Power, Affection, 
 and Sympathy of Dogs, selected from the Correspondence 
 columns of the Spectator. With an Introduction by 
 J. ST. LOE STRACHEY. Crown 8vo, cloth 53. 
 
 Opinions of the Press. 
 
 " Mr. St. Loe Strachey has here collected a very interesting series 
 of anecdotes." Times. 
 
 "The book is sure of a warm welcome." Athenceum. 
 
 " The book is interesting to all lovers of dogs, and their name is 
 legion, and there are statements in its pages which might profitably 
 engage the attention of men of science and students of philosophy. 
 ' Dog Stories ' ought to gallop with the swiftness of the greyhound 
 into a second edition." Speaker. 
 
 "An amusing book, which is certain to find a welcome, at all 
 events at the hands of two men out of three." Standard. 
 
 " Of real importance to students of the instincts and habits of 
 animals." Nature. 
 
 " The contents of this book are entertaining and remarkable." 
 Daily Telegraph. 
 
 " Suggestive and profoundly interesting. Mr. Strachey has done 
 his task Well " Admiralty and Horse Guards Gazette. 
 
 " These are extraordinary and well-authenticated anecdotes, which 
 will doubtless be eagerly read by lovers of pets, and students of 
 animal life." Christian World. 
 
 " This is certainly the best collection of dog stories that has ever 
 been published." Star. 
 
 " Alike provocative of wonder, laughter, and tears." N. B. Daily 
 Mail. 
 
 " The book will be of real interest to all who care for dogs or the 
 study of character in general." Morning Post. 
 
 LONDON: T FISHER UNWIN,
 
 CAT AND BIRD STORIES 
 
 FROM THE "SPECTATOR" 
 
 TO WHICH ARE ADDED 
 
 SUNDRY ANECDOTES OF HORSES, DONKEYS, COWS, 
 
 APES, BEARS, AND OTHER ANIMALS, AS WELL 
 
 AS OF INSECTS AND REPTILES 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 
 
 JOHN ST. LOE STRACHEY 
 
 LONDON 
 
 T. FISHER UNWIN 
 
 PATERNOSTER SQUARE 
 1896
 
 All rights reserved
 
 URL CA~-' vouu-^ > 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION . -.' v " 
 
 CATS . . I 
 
 BIRDS . . -5 
 
 INSECTS AND REPTILES . J 95 
 
 OTHER BEASTS . 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES . ... 
 
 T - iQ
 
 INTRODUCTION. 1 
 
 i. 
 
 IN a recent volume I collected the Dog Stories that 
 have appeared in the Spectator. In the present are to 
 be found Spectator Stories of Gats, Birds, and Insects, 
 together with a few anecdotes of other creatures, such 
 as Horses, Donkeys, Cows, and Sheep. As was to 
 be expected, the Dogs take the prize for pure intelli- 
 gence. The Cats, however, are a very good second. 
 The stories about them have, besides, a certain inde- 
 finable charm and thrill of amusement which is most 
 delightful. Be the reason what it may, there un- 
 doubtedly attaches to the cat a certain sense of 
 humour which makes her most attractive. It may 
 be when we apply the word to the cat that it has 
 more of the old than the new sense about it, more 
 of the meaning which Jonson used when he wrote 
 "Every Man in his Humour," or which Beaumont and 
 Fletcher intended when they wrote " The Humorous 
 
 1 In this Introduction I have resumed portions of an article 
 on "The Cat as an Unconscious Humorist," which appeared 
 in the Spectator of August, 1890.
 
 viii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Lieutenant" The fact remains, however, that the cat, 
 in one sense or the other or perhaps in both is a 
 very humorous beast. 
 
 II. 
 
 Bold and absolute statements of this kind require 
 to be supported. 
 
 To speak of the cat as a humorist, in any shape or 
 form, sounds, I admit, something very like a contra- 
 diction in terms. There are hundreds of people 
 and by people are meant, of course, only those who 
 belong to the fraternity of cat-lovers, and are bound 
 by that subtle tie of freemasonry that unites all the 
 adherents of the white, the black, the tortoiseshell, 
 the grey, the mustard, and the tabby who at first 
 sight will be prepared to maintain that the notion of 
 humour must be altogether dissociated from the cat, 
 and that dignity, degenerating in a few exceptional 
 cases into pomposity on the one hand, or insolence 
 and cynicism on the other, is her special quality, and, 
 indeed, the only one marked enough to deserve par- 
 ticular attention. Though I do not altogether agree 
 with this theory, I am prepared to acknowledge that 
 it is the one ordinarily entertained, and further to 
 admit that up to a certain point there is a good deal 
 to be said for it. Looked at merely from one point 
 of view, cats are all dignity and reserve, and display 
 a hauteur of demeanour which marks them off as the 
 aristocrats of the animal world. Their absolute refusal 
 to hurry even under the greatest provocation is alone
 
 INTRODUCTION. ix 
 
 enough to earn them the right to rank as Nature's 
 nobility. I have seen a tabby with a black muzzle 
 who, for cold, calculated, and yet perfectly well-bred 
 insolence, could have given points to a spiteful 
 duchess whose daughter-in-law "wasn't one of us, 
 you know." The heartless and deliberate rudeness 
 of that cat's behaviour on occasion, had she been a 
 man, would have unquestionably justified shooting 
 at sight. The courtiers in the most slavish palace 
 of the East would have rebelled had they received 
 the treatment she meted out daily to those who 
 waited on her hand and foot. After a devoted ad- 
 mirer had hunted breathless and bare-headed over a 
 large garden, and under a blazing July sun, lest puss 
 should lose her dinner, and had at last brought her 
 into the dining-room in his arms, that cat, instead of 
 showing any gratitude, and instead of running with 
 pleasure to the plate prepared for her, has been 
 known to sit bolt upright at the other end of the 
 room, regarding the whole table with a look of undis- 
 guised contempt, her eyes superciliously half-shut, 
 and a tiny speck of red tongue protruding between her 
 teeth. If the thing had not been so exceedingly well 
 done, it would have been simply vulgar. As it was, it 
 amounted to the most exasperating form of genteel 
 brutality imaginable. The company having been at 
 last thoroughly stared out of countenance and put 
 down by this monstrous exhibition of intentional 
 rudeness, the cat in question slowly rose to her feet, 
 and digging her claws well into the carpet, stretched 
 and balanced herself, while yawning at the same time
 
 x INTRODUCTION. 
 
 with lazy self-satisfaction. After this she proceeded 
 by the most circuitous route obtainable to the plate 
 put out for her, evidently intending it to be clearly 
 understood that she held its presence under the side- 
 board to be due in some way or other to her own 
 skill and forethought, and that she in no sense re- 
 garded herself as beholden to any other person. 
 
 Yet another instance of the freezing and offensive 
 dignity which cats are capable of exhibiting occurs to 
 me. I remember to have seen a distinguished diplo- 
 matist, trained to hold his own in the courts of kings, 
 and never at a loss to get out of an embarrassing 
 position, or to meet an act of rudeness by a rapier- 
 thrust of wit, utterly put down by a small black kitten. 
 The diplomatist had been playing with the kitten, but 
 he went too far. Instead of making fun for the kitten, 
 he made fun of her, and this she was quick to see and 
 to resent. Determined to mark her sense of his con- 
 duct, she at once put a stop to the game, and calmly 
 but resolutely placed her small person in front of the 
 man of ceremony, wrapped her tail neatly round her 
 toes, and gazed at him with an air of pitying con- 
 tempt. It was an electric moment, and the rest of 
 the company watched with palpitating eagerness the 
 struggle for ascendency. It proved, however, an 
 unequal contest. After a few moments of a regard 
 which told more of sorrow than of anger, the kitten 
 deliberately began to wash her little black face, 
 stopping every now and then, paw in air, to give a 
 look of faint surprise, mingled with disgust, at her 
 antagonist. The situation speedily became ridiculous,
 
 INTRODUCTION. xi 
 
 but not for the kitten, and in a very short time the 
 diplomatist had evidently admitted himself beaten. 
 The kitten then rose, walked to the window, and 
 placidly gazed out at the landscape, every curve in 
 her back showing her sense of the bad taste which 
 had characterised the incident that had just ter- 
 minated. 
 
 But though the cat is a very dignified animal, and 
 indeed compares favourably with man in that respect, 
 she is often the unconscious cause of humorous situa- 
 tions, owing in a great measure to her unbounded 
 egotism. If a cat is watched carefully in the ordinary 
 relations of domestic life, a thousand instances will 
 be noticed in which the results of her action are ex- 
 ceedingly humorous. Even granted that the cat has 
 herself little or no primary sense of humour, she is 
 capable, when properly understood, of affording in- 
 tense amusement to others. To realise this fact is a 
 great source of pleasure nay, of security. It is, 
 indeed, hardly too much to say that unless some 
 means are discovered for taking her down a peg or 
 two every now and then, a cat is an impossible beast 
 to live with. Her pomposity, her formality, and her 
 de haut en bas manner of looking at the world, would 
 be unbearable unless we knew how on occasion to 
 turn the laugh against her. Only by enjoying an 
 occasional score off "the furred serpent" can the 
 balance be redressed, and a comfortable modus vivendi 
 between man and cat be arranged. Every cat-owner 
 must recall incidents in his experience which in a 
 moment have made up for the many humiliations
 
 xii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 suffered at the hands of his cat humiliations received 
 as he stood patiently while puss made an aggravatingly 
 complete periplus of the room before she would deign 
 to walk out of a door, specially opened at her re- 
 quest ; or as he fumed on the front doorstep, on a 
 raw November night, trying to induce the priestess of 
 the hearthrug to enter her abode, at his and not her 
 own good time and pleasure. 
 
 So much for the cat as a cause of humour, when 
 seen from the man's point of view. We must not 
 forget, however, that there is yet another side to the 
 question one which has been put with great force 
 and point by Montaigne. " When," says he, " my 
 cat and I entertain each other with mutual apish 
 tricks, as playing with a garter, who knows but that I 
 make my cat more sport than she makes me ? Shall 
 I conclude her to be a simple [i.e., a fool], that has her 
 time to begin or refuse to play as freely as I myself 
 have ? Nay, who knows but that it is a defect of my 
 not understanding her language (for doubtless cats 
 talk and reason with one another) that we agree no 
 better ? And who knows but that she pities me for 
 being no wiser than to play with her, and laughs and 
 censures my folly for making sport for her, when we 
 two play together." Perhaps, too, it is the cat that 
 has the best of the laugh, even when we dub her an 
 unconscious humorist. It would be just like her 
 " subtlety " to be all the while laughing in her sleeve 
 of fur. 
 
 Anyhow, in one way or another, the cat is a 
 source of humour. She either makes fun of you, or
 
 INTRODUCTION. xiii 
 
 else gives you the sense of fun. That will, I believe, 
 be admitted on consideration by all cat-lovers, though 
 not perhaps till some great man of letters has arisen 
 and written " Every Cat in her Humour " will the 
 secret of this humorous fascination be laid bare. 
 
 III. 
 
 Of the bird and other stories in the present volume 
 little need be said except that they have a distinct 
 scientific as well as a literary value. They are not 
 merely good reading, but the record of important facts 
 in Natural History. I will only repeat here what I 
 said in my Introduction to the Dog Stories as to the 
 impossibility of asking all the writers whether they 
 had any objection to the stories reappearing in print. 
 Their original communication of the stories is clearly 
 conclusive evidence that they would have said " Yes," 
 could they have been consulted.
 
 CATS. 
 
 AN AUTHENTIC ANECDOTE OF AN 
 AUTOMATON. 
 
 SIR, Some time ago, a machine of the cat species 
 was received into our house under distressing circum- 
 stances, and adopted by our household. We have all 
 rendered ourselves ridiculous in scientific eyes by 
 becoming much attached to this rescued foundling, 
 and he has assumed, under the name of Bruin, a 
 position of importance which becomes his size, intel- 
 ligence, and estimate of his own merits. Under the 
 second of these heads, I could furnish you with several 
 interesting particulars ; I content myself, however, 
 with one, which relates to our machine of the cat 
 species, and to another machine called a gas-stove. 
 We had one of the latter articles put up in a study 
 beyond the dining-room at the beginning of winter, 
 and Bruin speedily selected it as his own particular 
 fireplace, in preference to the dining-room grate, no 
 doubt because it was less frequented and the heat 
 was more uniform. When the severe cold set in, it 
 
 2
 
 2 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 struck Bruin's master that it would be comfortable 
 for him to have the stove to sleep by, and might tend 
 to modify his erratic habits. Accordingly the stove 
 was left alight (at half-strength), and Bruin signified 
 his approbation by curling himself up in front of it 
 early in the evening, and sleeping soundly until he 
 was roused, under protest, and yawning widely, to 
 a late breakfast, during all the nights and mornings 
 which have since elapsed. On Thursday night 
 Christmas Eve his master left home, and it occurred 
 to me to test Bruin's intelligence concerning that 
 event. I left the stove unlighted, and watched his 
 proceedings when the hour at which he usually retires 
 to rest arrived. He marched into the room with the 
 air of important business to be immediately attended 
 to which strongly characterises him, looked at the 
 blank coppery space, uttered an angry cry, and ran 
 out of the room to the coat-and-umbrella stand in the 
 hall. He sniffed at a couple of waterproofs and an 
 interloping en tout cos, but detected the absence of 
 the familiar great-coat and the sturdy umbrella which 
 he associates with his master. Then he rushed up- 
 stairs, evidently with a strong sense of injury upon 
 him, and I followed, to find him crying at the door 
 of his master's bedroom, which I opened for him. 
 He jumped on the bed, sniffed about the pillow, 
 jumped down again, once more cried angrily, and 
 ran downstairs. I followed, and took my seat in the 
 dining-room, pretending not to notice him. He sat 
 for two or three minutes in front of the stove, then 
 came into the dining-room and put his paws upon
 
 CATS. 3 
 
 my knees, and gazed into my face with a gasp not 
 a cry, but a mode of speech which this machine has 
 made us understand. I pretended to be puzzled ; he 
 scratched my gown and gasped again. "You are not 
 thirsty, Bruin," I remarked ; " what do you want ? 
 I am to get up, am I, and you will show me ? " I 
 suited the action to the word, and he preceded me 
 into the study, stepped inside the fender, put up his 
 paws on the front of the stove, and turned his head 
 towards me over his shoulder with a look of content 
 that I had been clever enough to interpret his meaning, 
 which gave me very sincere satisfaction. As I know 
 that you, Sir, are an advocate for the study of animals 
 otherwise than by the torture of them, I venture to 
 send you this anecdote of an automaton who really 
 seems, to my ignorant mind, to have something like 
 what we fancy we mean by " consciousness." I am, 
 Sir, &c., 
 
 A CONSTANT READER AND DISCIPLE. 
 
 January 2, 1875.
 
 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 ANOTHER AUTOMATON. 
 
 SIR, I hope you will consider as worthy of record 
 an habitual action on the part of our " conscious 
 automaton " of the cat species, which certainly ex- 
 hibits a well-connected train of thought. 
 
 In this old house there is a staircase with a bor- 
 rowed light, admitted at a considerable height from 
 the ground, through a balustrade, beneath which there 
 hangs a bell. When our " automaton " finds himself 
 on this staircase without practicable egress the 
 door being shut, he leans forward through the balus- 
 trade, and literally "touches the bell." Of course, 
 this summons always results in his release by one 
 of his surrounding admirers. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 C. T. 
 
 January 16, 1875.
 
 CATS. 
 
 A CAT IN LOVE. 
 
 SIR, Your interesting article on Cats in last week's 
 issue prompts me to send you the following entertain- 
 ing instance of affection between a "domestic Sphinx" 
 and its natural enemy, the dog. The cat in question, 
 which hails from the Isle of Man, is apparently to all 
 intents and purposes in love with a fox-terrier inhabit- 
 ing the same house, and the " spooning " that goes 
 on between them is comic in the extreme. On one 
 occasion, in my presence, the dog (who was seated 
 on a lady's lap) feeling dissatisfied or aggrieved at 
 something or other that was taking place, vented his 
 feelings in a long, low whine or howl. The cat, who 
 was on the hearthrug, turned her head, and gazed 
 with a wistful, sympathetic expression at her suffering 
 friend for some seconds ; at last, unable to listen to 
 his weeping any longer, she sprang upon the lady's 
 knees, put her paws round the dog's neck, and kissed 
 his cheek with her lips. This occurred twice, the 
 second time the dog responding to her caresses by 
 licking her back, in the tenderest manner conceiv- 
 able. 
 
 I am not aware whether the exhibition of emotion
 
 6 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 or of reason is the less compatible with the automatic 
 theory of animals ; in either case, however, I think 
 the fact I have described is not wholly unworthy the 
 attention of those who have, before now, defended 
 that doctrine in your correspondence columns. I am, 
 Sir, &c., FREDERIC H. BALFOUR. 
 
 April 6, 1878.
 
 CA TS. 
 
 THE TRAVELLING CAT. 
 
 SIR, During six weeks which I spent at the Dia- 
 blerets, in Switzerland, several years ago, I had 
 the pleasure of making acquaintance with a very 
 remarkable cat. His mistress, a very clever and 
 interesting lady, nearly related to a celebrated 
 Independent divine, brought him with her to the 
 hotel, and opened his basket in her room. This 
 done, puss looked about him, reconnoitred the 
 locality, and then walked out leisurely, to spend 
 his day in the adjacent fields and woods, returning 
 at night to his bed and supper in his mistress's room. 
 Miss " L." assured me that she had carried the cat 
 all over the Continent with her, and that this was his 
 invariable practice. Perhaps if this letter should fall 
 under her notice, she will favour us with further 
 details respecting her intelligent compagnon de voyage. 
 Histories of exceptionally clever and affectionate 
 animals, like the delightful one of " Martin " in your 
 last issue, are of special Value, if they cause us to 
 recognise the neglected truth that both the moral and 
 the intellectual qualities of the higher animals vary 
 in individuals between the poles of something like
 
 8 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 heroism and baseness, genius and idiocy. It is as 
 absurd to talk of " the cat " or " the dog " being this 
 or that, as of " the man " being so. Why do we not 
 take more care to keep up the breeds of the more 
 gifted brutes, and let the foolish and ill-grained ones 
 perish ? Is it because our dog-shows and cat-shows 
 make much of some trifle of external form or colour, 
 and totally disregard (except in the case of the sheep- 
 dog trials) all the qualities of the creatures' minds 
 and hearts ? I am, Sir, &c., PHILOZOOIST. 
 
 August 27, 1 88 1.
 
 CATS. 
 
 A MUSICAL TOM. 
 
 SIR, Let me add a couple of biographical notes, for 
 the benefit of cat-lovers. I knew a cat, many years 
 ago a black Tom rather heavy and dull in his 
 ways, for the most part, but with two qualities very 
 strongly marked love for music and affectionateness. 
 He knew good music from bad, perfectly well, would 
 sit on the step of a piano with great content and 
 purring, so long as a capable performer was playing, 
 and if the execution were very good indeed, would 
 testify his delight by arching his tail, walking across 
 the keys, and sitting down in the performer's lap. 
 On the other hand, bad playing always drove him 
 away ; and I remember there was one member of the 
 family whose performance always sent him off in 
 disgust. So much for the artistic side of his tempera- 
 ment. Now for the affections. His mother was 
 always very fond of her kittens, and used to sit over 
 them very closely during the first early weeks of their 
 lives, too closely, her son thought, after he grew old 
 enough to consider about things. So I have more 
 than once seen him go up to her, as she nestled over 
 the young ones in the basket, and apparently whisper
 
 io CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 something ; whereupon she would get out, stretch 
 herself, and go into the garden for a little fresh air, 
 while he got into her 'place, and lay over the kittens 
 to keep them warm till she came back, when he 
 resigned his charge to her again. I regret to say that 
 he died, still a comparatively young cat, of distemper. 
 I am, Sir, &c., RICHARD F. LITTLEDALE. 
 
 September 3, 1881.
 
 CATS. ii 
 
 THE CAT IN THE HOSPITAL. 
 
 SIR, To my regret, my Spectator of the 2Oth did 
 not reach my hand until the 24th. I was deeply 
 interested in the relation of " Martin's " affection for 
 the persons of the household, and not so much for 
 the house. It happened that on the previous day, 
 the 23rd, I had become acquainted with some facts 
 concerning a fine cat, " Tabby," which do not point 
 in the direction of " Martin's " conduct. In the city 
 
 of (never mind where), there is a large hospital 
 
 of wooden erections, pavilions. These are being re- 
 placed by permanent structures. To allow of these 
 being erected, the occupiers of one ward had to re- 
 move to the other end of the place, to a ward pre- 
 cisely similar, and in every respect as comfortable as 
 the one they left. " Tabby," from its birth, had been 
 a cherished inmate of the old ward, and had gone in 
 and out as a kind of privileged mistress for four or 
 five years, and had been an object of constant atten- 
 tion and affection from both nurses, especially from 
 the younger woman of the two, which affection was 
 duly and well returned by " Tabby." But on the 
 removal of the nurses to the other ward, " Tabby "
 
 it CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 refused to go with them. She allowed herself to be 
 carried over, but, to the chagrin and mortification of 
 her friends, she returned to her old abode. On hear- 
 ing these facts, I went over and saw her " hanging 
 about " her old dwelling. My friends, the nurses, 
 hope in time to overcome " Tabby's " strange pre- 
 judice. This incident of feline experiences is set 
 down without " note or comment," to be placed 
 alongside of " Martin's " history. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 E. H. 
 September 3, 1881
 
 CATS. i j 
 
 A DISCIPLINARIAN CAT. 
 
 SIR, The Spectator delights in cat stories. May I 
 add one to the interesting list which has from time 
 to time appeared in your columns ? Picture to your- 
 self a little girl, about two years of age, sitting on a 
 low stool before a drawing-room fire. Coiled up on 
 the rug is a favourite domestic cat. The child is in 
 a fretful mood, and has been crying for some time. 
 The cat endures the annoyance for some time, though 
 evidently displeased. But even feline patience has 
 its limits. So pussy uncoiled herself, walked up to 
 the child, and gave her a box on the ear with her 
 closed paw, and then lay down again before the fire. 
 The child, taken completely aback, cried louder than 
 ever. Again pussy tried to endure it. Again her 
 patience became exhausted, and she delivered a 
 second box upon the ear, which nearly knocked the 
 child off her stool. It was now the little girl's turn 
 to be enraged. She rushed at the cat, and dragged 
 it round the room by the tail. The story rests on the 
 authority of the child's mother, who was witness of 
 the scene. I am, Sir, &c., M. 
 
 January 21, 1882.
 
 H CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 ABOUT "DOT." 
 
 SIR, As I am a constant reader of the Spectator, I 
 know you take a great interest in domestic animals, 
 and I have long wished to tell you about " Dot." 
 She was handsome as to size ; her coat was a beauti- 
 ful, glossy black, and at the throat was a pretty, white 
 star. Each day, as the different articles were brought 
 in for dinner and placed on the table, the charge 
 always was, " Now, ' Dot,' come here and take care of 
 this till I come back." " Dot " mounted guard at 
 once, on a chair at the side of the table, and was 
 never known to leave her post till the viands were 
 claimed. Whether it was beef, mutton, fish, or game, 
 all was perfectly safe ; and she was quite contented 
 when a cooked morsel after dinner was given to her 
 as a reward. Her own dinner, though placed close 
 beside her, she never touched, but always waited till 
 it was given to her, however hungry she was known 
 to be. 
 
 She was obedient to all orders, one of which was 
 that she was not to come to my room. (I prefer to 
 keep at a respectful distance from even domestic pets, 
 however excellent their individual characters.) But
 
 CATS. 15 
 
 one very cold evening of a very severe winter, " Dot," 
 passing all the other rooms, to which she had perfect 
 freedom, came to my door, and, with a special petition, 
 to which my attention was drawn, as being something 
 quite unusual in cat-language, waited till she was told 
 she might come in. The good creature placed her- 
 self before the bright fire, and purred, to her and our 
 great pleasure a self-invited and truly happy guest. 
 She never once encroached on this one little special 
 favour. Could even the illustrious "Jack" have 
 excelled her when food was the charge? I am, 
 Sir, &c., M. D. 
 
 January, 21, 1882.
 
 16 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A CLEVER CAT. 
 
 SIR, The following proofs of intelligence in a cat 
 you may deem worthy of a space in your columns : 
 A literary friend of mine at Bath had been often 
 vastly amused at the interest with which her cat 
 appeared to view her proceedings at the writing- 
 table. He would sometimes jump up beside her, 
 and lay his paw on her wrist. On one occasion, 
 however, he leapt on the table in front of her, and 
 watched her narrowly, and with such a preternaturally 
 knowing glance in his bright eye, with his head held 
 slightly on one side, that she was impelled to lay 
 down her pen and look at him. What was her sur- 
 prise and delight to see him walk deliberately to the 
 inkstand, take a pen in his mouth, and leaping to 
 the floor, commence tracing characters with it on the 
 carpet, fortunately for which, poor Timothy had for- 
 gotten the ink ! Another day his mistress said to 
 him in fun, " Oh, Timothy, I have lost a button off 
 my dress ; I wish you would find it ! " The animal 
 looked at her, walked out of the room, and returned 
 in a few minutes with the missing button in his 
 mouth ! Alas ! poor Timothy ! he has disappeared, 
 and this is probably the only permanent record of 
 his winning ways. I am, Sir, &c., C. W. 
 
 September 2, 1 882.
 
 CATS. 17 
 
 FELINE MOURNERS. 
 
 SIR, Knowing your regard for animals even for 
 the despised cat I send you two cognate anecdotes, 
 and ask you or your readers if they can throw any 
 light on the matter of the expression of grief by 
 animals. I had a favourite Angora cat, who died 
 after a week of suffering, the result of an accident. 
 During his. illness, his mother, a fine old cat of the 
 ordinary sort, was often with him ; but she was not 
 present at the time of his death. He died late in the 
 evening, and was taken into the cellar, to await his 
 burial the next day. When he was brought up, stiff 
 and cold, in a box, his mother was taken to see him ; 
 she gave one look, uttered a shriek, and ran away. 
 
 On relating this circumstance to a lady, she told 
 me that there was a pet cat in her family, who was 
 very fond of this lady's mother. When the latter 
 was in her last illness, the cat was continually with 
 her, lying on the bed. The lady died, and the cat 
 was, of course, not again admitted to the room, 
 though presenting herself again and again at the 
 door. When the coffin was being carried down- 
 stairs, the cat happened to appear, and, on seeing 
 
 3
 
 i8 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 it, uttered a shriek. In both these cases, the sound 
 made was entirely unlike those made by cats under 
 any circumstances, unless it be the cry made when 
 in sudden pain. In the latter case, the most re- 
 markable part remains to be told. The cat went to 
 the funeral, and then disappeared for many days. 
 But after that, she repeatedly attended funerals in 
 the same cemetery, walking before the clergyman, 
 her master. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 A LOVER OF THE DESPISED. 
 
 September I, 1883.
 
 CATS. 19 
 
 , "TIBS." 
 
 SIR, I am a very little girl, but I wish to tell you a 
 story. A short time ago we lived upon the shores of 
 the Lake Lupioma (Clear Lake), which is one of the 
 most beautiful lakes in California, and there I had a 
 little cat, named " Tibs." There was no regular road 
 to our house on the shore, but only a horse-trail 
 through the bush, and " Tibs " had never passed this 
 way in her life, and all communication was by means 
 of boat and steamers. When we removed from our 
 home we came away in a boat, and after landing two 
 miles further down got directly into a waggon, and 
 rode seven miles up into the forest, where we now 
 live. We left poor " Tibey " behind, knowing she 
 could get her own living very well, and meaning 
 by and by to have her brought to us. Between the 
 place where we now live and the shores of the lake 
 there are two or three small farms, and all around them 
 is forest. But there are innumerable roads, stretching 
 away in every direction. These roads are made by 
 the ox-teams of the wood-choppers ; they are very 
 dark and lonely, leading up the mountain-top and 
 into the thickest parts of the pine forest, and then
 
 20 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 suddenly ending. If you follow one of these, it will 
 lead you many miles away, and then you will come 
 to a spot where some enormous trees have been cut 
 down and been dragged away by the oxen, and all 
 beyond is the dark wood again. 
 
 Of course, I was very unhappy about my little 
 friend, but we were all so busy that nobody had time 
 to go and look after her. And so five weeks passed 
 away. One evening, as we were sitting down to supper 
 under a beautiful tall pine tree, we heard a faint 
 mieu, and looking, saw our faithful little cat spring- 
 ing across the stream. We took her into our laps 
 and nursed her all the evening. Will you please tell 
 me in the Spectator how " Tibs " found the way ? I 
 remain, your friend, AGNES. 
 
 March I, 1884. 
 
 [We have not the least guess. Perhaps Mr. 
 Romanes would offer a suggestion. ED. Spectator^
 
 CATS. 21 
 
 A KITTY GREY. 
 
 SIR, About two months ago, while staying in the 
 Rocky Mountains in Northern Colorado, I witnessed 
 an example of fatherly affection in a tom-cat, which 
 I feel sure you will be interested to hear of. This 
 cat had adopted two motherless kittens ; he slept 
 with them at night, guarded them in the daytime, 
 and always superintended their meals, in which 
 latter he showed great unselfishness. For the 
 hostess of the ranche was in the habit of feeding 
 the kittens out of a small bowl of milk laid on the 
 floor, into which they at once would plunge their 
 heads ; meanwhile " Kitty Grey," the old tom-cat 
 quite aware that there was not room for his own 
 great head in it, too would sit by, complacently 
 watching them, nor move till they had finished, ex- 
 cept when his hunger was very keen, and then he 
 would dip his paw in now and again and lick it. 
 This was the case when I saw him ; and I shall 
 not readily forget the sight of that large grey-and- 
 white cat walking demurely round the bowl to see 
 where he could best insert his paw without disturb- 
 ing the kittens, and then, with his head much on 
 one side, dipping it delicately in and out, until they 
 had quite finished, when he at once fell-to and drank 
 up the remainder. I am, Sir, &c., L. C. P. 
 
 February 7, 1885.
 
 22 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 HOW TOPSY OPENED THE BACK 
 DOOR. 
 
 SIR, The domestic cat is a wonderful animal ; but 
 I fancy your readers are not aware that they can 
 open doors. I have one that always opens the back 
 door himself. His method is simple : he springs up 
 and puts one paw on the latch, the weight causing it 
 to rise, when " Topsy " walks in. I would not believe 
 it for a long time, but now I can account for many 
 missing articles. I am, Sir, &c., R. S. T. 
 
 May 30, 1885.
 
 CATS. 23 
 
 A WARM-HEARTED CAT. 
 
 SIR, In the extract that you quote from Sir J. 
 Lubbock's Walsall lecture, he says .that a certain 
 wasp "knows whether the egg will produce a male 
 or female grub, and apportions the food accord- 
 ingly." ..." Does she count ? " he asks. Is it an 
 absurd suggestion that the size of the cell and the 
 amount of food supplied may determine the sex of 
 the grub, and that all that the mother does is instinc- 
 tively to fill the cell, regardless and ignorant of all 
 consequences ? The case of the honey-bee is some- 
 what analogous ; for if not sex, at least mature 
 development, depends on conditions of food and cell ; 
 the worker-grub, properly fed and celled, can, as is 
 well known, become a queen. 
 
 I can parallel your example of animal sympathy. 
 I had a cat who carried to an old bitch who had 
 partly suckled him, dainties to tempt her appetite in 
 her last illness. But his feelings were more enduring. 
 After the poor old dog had been removed by poison, 
 the cat would not for some time go near myself or 
 the gardener, though previously much attached to 
 both ; evidently he thought we were implicated in 
 the removal of his foster-mother. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 FRATER. 
 
 February 19, 1887.
 
 34 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 SYMPATHY IN CATS AND DOGS. 
 
 SIR, I know you have a high opinion of the dog's 
 character, but of the " harmless, necessary cat " per- 
 haps you may not think so well as he or she deserves. 
 The following anecdote of my own " Black Beauty," 
 or " Professor Blackie," as I often call him, may find 
 a place in your generous paper. 
 
 A favourite Pomeranian dog was cruelly blinded by 
 a carter's lash, and, while his owner tenderly bathed 
 the inflamed eyes, " Blackie," the sleek tom-cat, always 
 sat by with a kindly look of pity in his luminous 
 green eye. When " Laddie," the blind dog, was called 
 in at night, he often failed to find the door, or would 
 strike his venerable head against the posts. "Blackie," 
 having noted this difficulty, would jump off his warm 
 cushion by the kitchen fire, trot out with a " mew " 
 into the dark night, and in a few minutes return with 
 " Laddie " shoulder-to-shoulder, as it were, and the 
 friends would then separate for the night. " Laddie," 
 when younger, had quietly resented the attentions 
 shown by his owner to a fascinating kitten, who used 
 to frolic with his long, fringed tail ; but he was too 
 noble to show active dislike. When the kitten died
 
 CATS. 25 
 
 in convulsions a victim to nerves and a ball of 
 cotton and its owner bent over the stiffened form in 
 grief, " Laddie " came gravely up and kissed it He 
 followed to the grave, and for many days was seen 
 by his mistress to go up the garden and sit upon the 
 sod. Was this his way of showing remorse for his 
 former coldness, or might it be an expression of 
 sympathy for his bereaved owner? I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 AN OLD READER. 
 August 20, 1887.
 
 26 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 CATS AS HUMORISTS. 
 
 SIR, After reading your article on " Cats as Humor- 
 ists," I am obliged to send you an anecdote of mine, 
 a long-haired, black Persian. Living in the suburbs, 
 we are infested by cats of all kinds, and are perpetu- 
 ally driving them away, aided by the said long-haired 
 favourite, who pursues them off the premises with 
 hair and tail standing wildly erect, and presenting a 
 most alarming appearance. We feel that this violent 
 demonstration must be a joke, as the same cat con- 
 stantly carries the remains of her own dinner about 
 twenty-five yards, across an open space and up some 
 steps, to feed the identical animals she has driven off 
 an hour or two previously. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 A. E. L. 
 August 1 6, 1890.
 
 CATS. 27 
 
 A CAT AND A HEDGEHOG. 
 
 SIR, Have you space for one more cat-story ? Many 
 years ago I was living in a house where a hedgehog 
 was kept for the destruction of blackbeetles. I had 
 heard that hedgehogs would eat mice ; and one day 
 finding the cat playing with a mouse she had caught, 
 I took it from her and gave it to the hedgehog, who 
 immediately proceeded to devour it. The cat was at 
 first furious, and began to claw at the hedgehog, who, 
 however, only elevated its spines, and quietly went 
 on with its meal, and the cat soon desisted from the 
 attempt to recover her lost prey. 
 
 The curious part of the story is what followed. 
 For weeks afterwards, whenever the cat caught a 
 mouse, she went in search of the hedgehog, and did 
 not rest until she found it, and had placed the mouse 
 where the hedgehog could secure it. I cannot say 
 how often this was done, but am sure it was not 
 fewer than half-a-dozen times. Perhaps some of 
 your readers may be able to define the motive which 
 induced these repeated acts of self-denial. I am, 
 Sir, &c., JOSHUA SING. 
 
 August 30, 1890.
 
 28 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 CATS' INTELLIGENCE. 
 
 SIR, My mother used to tell a story of an old cat 
 who used to sit on the table beside her mother's old 
 housekeeper, and play with her cotton-balls (reels 
 were not in those days). It was a common custom 
 to stick pins or needles in these cotton-balls if a pin- 
 cushion was not at hand. This cat, finding herself 
 pricked by the needles when playing with these balls, 
 used to draw them out first with her teeth in order to 
 play with comfort. If people would treat cats as 
 they do dogs, and study them as much, they would 
 be repaid by the amount of intelligence and sagacity 
 shown. I am, Sir, &c., SALF. 
 
 February 7, 1891.
 
 CATS. 29 
 
 A NEW FOSTER-MOTHER FOR KITTENS. 
 
 SlR, The letter signed " F. Simcox Lea," which 
 appeared in the Spectator of May 2/th, induces me 
 to give you an account of a similar incident at my 
 residence in Surrey, differing in our case only inas- 
 much as it has been a recurring one for at least six 
 consecutive years. The birds (which we call "blue- 
 tits ") for the first two years built under an inverted 
 flower-pot on a ground-floor window-sill, but the pot 
 being transferred to another position, they followed it 
 there. We have often looked at them when sitting, 
 and the bird has frequently remained on the nest 
 while the pot was lifted and replaced. Once the 
 greater part of the half-fledged brood fluttered off, 
 and got scattered about, and had to be replaced 
 through the hole in the top, seeming none the 
 worse. Once away, they do not seem to return to 
 the nest, as do the broods of the kind of wren which 
 builds a round ball of a nest in the bushes. I unin- 
 tentionally put the whole dozen or so of young birds 
 out of one of these nests one Sunday morning, under 
 a fierce fire of scolding from the old bird, found them 
 all there again the following Sunday, and (finally, I
 
 30 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 imagine) put them all out again on the Sunday after 
 that. 
 
 It may interest your readers who care about this 
 sort of subject, to hear of the singular incident at 
 our farm two years ago, of a hen taking charge of 
 three kittens. The mother-cat must have taken them 
 herself an hour or two after their birth and placed 
 them under the hen, which had made a nest for herself 
 two or three yards off under the manger in a cowshed. 
 I saw the cat and her progeny lying on the straw 
 directly after their birth, and noticed the hen on her 
 nest. Returning an hour or two later, the cowman 
 showed me the kittens under the hen, wondering how 
 they had got there, as nobody else had been in the 
 shed, and he had not touched them. Till the kittens 
 grew too big, the hen never left them ; the cat used 
 to go away foraging, and come down every now and 
 then, throw herself down alongside the hen and nurse 
 her young ones, sometimes lying with her head under, 
 and her paws almost round, the hen's neck. As the 
 kittens got older, it was droll to see their foster-mother 
 following them about and trying to cover them with 
 her wings. For some six weeks it was quite the sight 
 of the neighbourhood. I suppose incidents of the 
 sort are not very unfrequent, though rare to one's 
 own personal knowledge. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 June 3, 1893.
 
 CATS. 31 
 
 ANOTHER FOSTER-MOTHER FOR 
 KITTENS. 
 
 SIR, A somewhat similar incident to that recorded 
 by Mr. Egerton in the Spectator of June 3rd took 
 place some years back at Northrepps Hall, near 
 Cromer, the seat of the late Sir Fowell Buxton. A 
 large colony of parrots and macaws had been 
 established there, for whom a home had been pro- 
 vided near the house in a large open aviary, with 
 hutches for them to lay in. But the birds as a rule 
 preferred the woods, at any rate during the summer, 
 only coming home at feeding-time, when, on the well- 
 known tinkling of the spoon on the tin containing 
 their food, a large covey of gaily plumaged birds 
 came fluttering down to the feeding-place, presenting 
 a sight not often to be seen in England. The hutches 
 being then practically deserted, a cat found one of 
 them a convenient place to kitten in. While the 
 mother-cat was away foraging, one of the female 
 parrots paid a chance visit to the place, and finding 
 the young kittens in her nest, at once adopted them 
 as her own, and was found by Lady Buxton's man 
 covering her strange adopted children with her
 
 32 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 wings. Whether this practice was continued, as in 
 Mr. Egerton's case, or only adopted on this one 
 occasion, I cannot say. 
 
 May I be permitted to add another count to the 
 indictment against the " odious " and " odorous " 
 black-beetle or " cockroach," formulated in your 
 amusing article on " Household Pests " ? The 
 wretched creature is very fond of the paste with 
 which in former days (one seldom sees them now) 
 the paper titles of books were affixed to their backs. 
 When living on the Undercliff of the Isle of Wight, 
 my house swarmed with these foul insects. They 
 drowned themselves in one's milk, swam in one's 
 soup, and nibbled one's pastry. They even invaded 
 our beds ; nor was it conducive to a night's calm 
 repose, on turning down the bedclothes, to see one 
 or more of these wretches scurrying away over the 
 sheets. We laid traps for them a very clever dodge 
 by filling soup-plates with beer, with a fringe of 
 split sticks resting on the ground, by which they 
 might climb, and after having drunk their fill, lose 
 their heads, tumble in and be drowned. The abun- 
 dance of these pests may be gathered when I say that 
 one morning we found between twenty and thirty of 
 various ages, sizes, and colours drowned in the beer 
 in our own bedroom. My study having the kitchen 
 fireplace behind it, was a favourite resort for these 
 horrible insects. On the shelves by the fireplace 
 there were a number of volumes with the white paper 
 labels I have spoken of. These labels, to my annoy- 
 ance, I found gradually disappearing ; not peeling off,
 
 CATS. 33 
 
 but wasting away in comminuted fragments. For 
 some time this was a mystery to me ; at last, while 
 I sat writing late at the other side of the room, I 
 was conscious of slight rustlings and scrapings by the 
 fireplace, and on examining my bookshelves I found 
 the cockroaches making their supper on the backs of 
 my books. 
 
 Subsequent alterations in the house removed the 
 kitchen, and the loss of the warmth which cock- 
 roaches so much delight in made them shift their 
 quarters, and the injury to my library ceased ; and 
 the kitchen being in a remote part of the house, their 
 visits to the bedrooms became less frequent. Like 
 the writer of the article, I tried a hedgehog. The 
 worthy animal did his best. He devoured cock- 
 roaches to repletion, an over-full meal sometimes 
 making him almost a greater nuisance than the in- 
 sects themselves. But what could one do among so 
 many ? He died at last, I believe, from over-devo- 
 tion to his task, and his praiseworthy but ineffectual 
 attempts to rid us of the pest came to an end. Not 
 so the pest itself, and but for the structural alterations 
 I have mentioned, and carefully stopping all the 
 crannies in which the cockroaches nestled by the 
 fireplace, it would have been as great as ever. 
 
 EUMUNT VENABLES.
 
 34 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A CAT AND HER KITTENS. 
 
 SIR, I have often read with interest your stories of 
 animals. Perhaps the following may find favour with 
 your cat-loving readers : We have two cats the 
 mother, Betsy, and her daughter Lina, two years 
 old. When the kittens came, we had always kept 
 one of each family, but we decided that the next 
 that came should all be destroyed. Accordingly, 
 when Lina's four kittens arrived, they were all 
 drowned. Three days later, Betsy had six kittens. 
 On the cellar being opened in the morning where 
 their bed was, Lina immediately took up the six 
 kittens one by one to the attic, a distance of seventy 
 stairs, doing it as quickly as possible, the last twelve 
 .being so steep that she had to hold her head very 
 high to prevent her knocking the kitten she held in 
 her mouth. Having deposited them all in a box, 
 she tried to take the mother too to the supposed 
 place of safety. After four were drowned, she re- 
 peated this with the remaining two several times, 
 nursing them as though they were her own in the 
 box, not allowing the mother to keep them down- 
 stairs at all. By what method of reasoning did she 
 arrive at the intended destiny of these kittens? or 
 did she think they were her own given back to her ? 
 I am, Sir, &c., F. B. 
 
 July 14, 1894.
 
 CATS. 35. 
 
 THE STORY OF THE BEAUTIFUL 
 PERSIAN. 
 
 SIR, As the dogs are having a good time in the 
 Spectator, I hope you will allow the cats a share. 
 Your readers may be interested in hearing of the 
 crafty trick of a black Persian. " Prin " is a magni- 
 ficent animal, but withal a most dainty one, showing 
 distinct disapproval of any meat not cooked in the 
 especial way he likes viz., roast. The cook, of 
 whom he is very fond, determined to break this bad 
 habit. Stewed or boiled meat was accordingly put 
 ready for him, but, as he had often done before, he 
 turned from it with disgust. However, this time no 
 fish or roast was substituted. For three days that 
 saucer of meat was untouched, and no other food 
 given. But on the fourth morning the cook was 
 much rejoiced at finding the saucer empty. " Prin " 
 ran to meet her, and the good woman told her mis- 
 tress how extra affectionate that repentant cat was 
 that morning. He did enjoy his dinner of roast that 
 day (no doubt served with a double amount of gravy). 
 It was not till the pot- board under the dresser was 
 cleaned on Saturday that his artfulness was brought
 
 36 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 to light. There, in one of the stewpans, at the back 
 behind the others, was the contents of the saucer of 
 stewed meat. There was no other animal about the 
 place, and the other two servants were as much 
 astonished as the cook at the clever trick played on 
 them by this terribly spoilt pet of the house. But 
 cook was mortified at the thought of that saucer of 
 roast beef. I know this story to be true, and I have 
 known the cat for the last nine or ten years. It lives 
 at Clapham. I am, Sir, &c., A. Z. 
 
 February 16, 1895.
 
 CATS. 37 
 
 A CAT-AND-DOG FRIENDSHIP. 
 
 SIR, The interesting letter, " A Canine Nurse," in 
 the Spectator of May i8th, recalls to mind an equally 
 curious event in cat and dog life which occurred some 
 years since in a house where I was living, but with 
 the additional interest of a hen being also implicated. 
 In the back-kitchen premises of an old manor- 
 house, amongst hampers, and such like odds and 
 ends, a cat had a litter of kittens. They were all 
 removed but one, and as the mother was frequently 
 absent, a hen began laying in a hamper close by. 
 For a time all things went well, the hen sitting on 
 her eggs and the cat nursing the kitten within a few 
 inches of each other. The brood were hatched out, 
 and almost at the same time the old cat disappeared. 
 The chickens were allowed to run about on the floor 
 for sake of the warmth from a neighbouring chimney, 
 and the kitten was fed with a saucer of milk, &c., in 
 the same place, both feeding together frequently out 
 of the same dish. The hen used to try to induce the 
 kitten to eat meal like the chicks, calling to it and 
 depositing pieces under its nose in the most amusing 
 way, finally doing all in its power to induce the kitten
 
 38 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 to come, like her chicks, under her wings. The result 
 was nothing but a series of squalls from the kitten, 
 which led to its being promoted from the back to the 
 front kitchen, where it was reared until it was grown 
 up. At this time a young terrier was introduced into 
 the circle, and after many back-risings and bad lan- 
 guage on pussy's part, they settled down amicably 
 and romped about the floor in fine style. Eventually 
 the terrier became an inveterate rabbit-poacher 
 killing young rabbits and bringing them home a 
 proceeding to which the cat gave an intelligent 
 curiosity, then a passive and purring approval, and 
 finally, her own instincts having asserted themselves, 
 she went off with the dog hunting in the woods. 
 Our own keeper reported them as getting "simply 
 owdacious," being found a great distance from the 
 house ; and keepers of adjacent places also said the 
 pair were constantly seen hunting hedgerows on their 
 beats. On one occasion I saw them myself hunting 
 a short hedge down systematically, the dog on one 
 side, the cat on the other ; and on coming near an 
 open gateway, a hare was put out of her form, and 
 bounding through the open gate was soon off; the 
 dog followed, till he came through the gateway, where 
 he stood looking after the hare ; and the cat joining 
 him, they apparently decided it was too big or too 
 fast to be successfully chased, so resumed the hedge- 
 hunting, each taking its own side as before. 
 
 They frequently returned home covered with mud, 
 and pussy's claws with fur, and would lie together in 
 front of the fire, the cat often grooming down the
 
 CATS. 39 
 
 dog, licking him and rubbing him dry, and the dog 
 getting up and turning over the ungroomed side to 
 be finished. This curious friendship went on for six 
 months or more, till the dog had to be kept in 
 durance vile to save him from traps and destruction 
 the cat, nothing daunted, going on with her poach- 
 ing, until one day she met her fate in a trap, and so 
 brought her course to an end. The dog was a well- 
 bred fox-terrier, and the cat a tabby of nothing 
 beyond ordinary characteristics, save in her early life 
 having been fostered by a hen, and in her prime the 
 staunch friend and comrade of poor old " Foxie," the 
 terrier. If there are "happy hunting-grounds" for 
 the animals hereafter, and such things are allowed 
 in them, no doubt they will renew their intimacy, if 
 not their poaching forays, together there. I am, 
 Sir, &c. R. J. GRAHAM SIMMONDS. 
 
 June 8, 1895.
 
 4 o CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 AN APOLOGY FOR THE CAT. 
 
 SIR, It seems to me that the great independence of 
 mind shown by even the most domesticated of cats is 
 evidence of a strength of character quite unusual 
 among animals. Of all pets, they give the least 
 trouble ; they forage for themselves largely, wash 
 themselves, take exercise of their own accord ; less 
 dependent on man than a dog, they are yet capable 
 of strong attachments. My cat, a Persian, is warmly 
 attached to me ; even if asleep on any one else's lap, 
 the moment I speak or call her, she runs to me. 
 Whenever she catches a mouse or finds herself some 
 dainty, it is at once brought to me and laid at my 
 feet with a special cry never used at any other time. 
 When I was ill in the winter and confined to bed for 
 some weeks, pussy was with me day and night, only 
 leaving me for half an hour at dinner-time. Efforts 
 were made to coax her into other rooms equally 
 warm and comfortable, for other invalids were in the 
 house, but nothing would induce her to leave me; and 
 when at last I went abroad for some weeks, I returned 
 to find the poor cat at death's door. She had scarcely 
 eaten, was unkempt, and had refused, after one vain
 
 CATS. 41 
 
 search, ever to come upstairs, even to the dining- 
 room floor, and this though every attention had been 
 bestowed on her. I have noticed a curious thing 
 when she has kittens that she graduates the size of 
 the mice she brings them, half-stunning the mice first; 
 but even so, the kittens appear terribly afraid of their 
 new plaything, and for some time dare not take part 
 in the game. Is this universally true ? Is the taste 
 for mice a cultivated one ? The taste for fish must 
 surely be, since cats could never have caught them 
 for themselves ; their fondness for shell-fish is espe- 
 cially puzzling, as they are quite unable to get at the 
 meat without aid. Have we here a clear case of 
 inherited instincts? 
 
 One more question. Has any one ever attempted 
 to breed a special race of cats, for special charac- 
 teristics, as has been done with dogs ? If not, is it 
 fair to compare the intelligence of one with the other? 
 For centuries dogs have been carefully weeded and 
 tended and trained ; with cats, do we not begin 
 afresh with each generation, instead of guarding the 
 race with care and strengthening by selection their 
 good points ? Thanking you for the pleasure your 
 animal studies have given me, in common with your 
 many other readers. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 ROSA M. BARRETT 
 
 June 29, 1895.
 
 42 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A JEALOUS CAT. 
 
 SIR, May I add to your animal stories a striking 
 instance of that spirit of jealousy which insists on 
 all or none? I had a cat which had long been an 
 inmate of the house, and received all the attentions 
 which it is well known old maids lavish on such 
 animals. Finding the mice were more than one cat 
 could attend to, I secured a kitten, and wished to 
 keep the two. My cat was indignant, and in very 
 plain language requested the kitten to go. I endea- 
 voured to make peace, lifted both on to the table, and 
 expostulated with puss. She listened with a sullen 
 expression, and then suddenly gave a claw at the 
 kitten's eye. I scolded and beat her, upon which she 
 left the house and I never saw her again. I am, Sir, 
 &c., DOROTHEA BEALE. 
 
 July 27, 1895.
 
 43 
 
 THE CAT THAT UNDERSTOOD. 
 
 SIR, I am induced to send you an account of a 
 remarkable instance of feline sagacity which occurred 
 in my house last week. About a fortnight ago my 
 black Persian cat brought to the house a young 
 sparrow, and taking it to the front door-mat, began 
 stripping it of its feathers. The cook not approving 
 of the litter made by the said feathers, doubled the 
 mat over, and told the cat he must not make such a 
 litter, but strew the feathers on the wrong side of the 
 mat, and not on the top. A fortnight subsequent to 
 this lecture the cat brought in another bird, and, 
 marvellous to say, himself turned the mat (which 
 was a heavy coir mat) over with his claws, and 
 littered the wrong side of it with the feathers, pre- 
 cisely as the cook had told him to do. This is 
 absolutely true. If it had been told me as a story, 
 I should have been very sceptical as to its truth. 
 But I have witnesses by ocular proof as to its being 
 a. fact and without exaggeration. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 H. D. 
 August 17, 1895.
 
 44 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A FELINE MOURNER. 
 
 SIR, I read with much interest the stories of animals, 
 especially cats, which appear from time to time in 
 the Spectator. May I add one showing that these 
 much-maligned animals have both memory and affec- 
 tion? I had a dear little dog, a Skye-terrier, and 
 some time after he came to my house a wandered cat 
 was added to the establishment. He was very kind 
 to " Bessie," as we called our new inmate, and 
 watched over her with great care, never allowing her 
 to go out by the front door, but pushing her gently 
 in when she attempted it ; but they had many a 
 romp together in the back garden. My dog died at 
 the good old age of thirteen, and the cat mourned 
 him like a human being, losing all her liveliness, and 
 moping about the house. About a year after the 
 dog's death I desired the gardener to put turf over 
 his grave, as the house was let, and I feared strangers 
 might dig there. To do this he began to level the 
 earth over the grave, and whenever the cat saw him 
 digging there she got into a most excited state, frisk- 
 ing about in the wildest spirits, evidently expecting 
 that her kind companion was to be restored to her.
 
 CATS. 45 
 
 Her disappointment, when he never appeared, was 
 trying to witness ; and she has been a " sadder and a 
 wiser" cat ever since, doing her duty faithfully by 
 the mice, but apparently expecting little pleasure in 
 life. I am, Sir, &c., L. S. 
 
 August 17, 1895.
 
 46 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A CAT WITH A FIRE-BRIGADE MEDAL. 
 
 SlR, A lady friend of mine had a very favourite cat, 
 named " Peter." One night she left him in his usual 
 sleeping-place, and went to her own room. Not long 
 after she heard a noise at her door scratching and 
 other sounds, which she knew must come from the 
 cat and took no notice of it at first ; but as it con- 
 tinued, she opened her door, upon which the cat 
 immediately turned and walked down straight to the 
 kitchen, followed by his mistress, who, to her dismay, 
 saw that the legs of the table were on fire ! She 
 started at once to the station of the fire-brigade not 
 waiting for bonnet or shawl (about five minutes' 
 walk). The engine came and extinguished the fire, 
 and the fire-brigade presented the cat with a medal, 
 which it wore always hung round its neck. This took 
 place in Brighton. The station of the fire-brigade is 
 in West Hill Road, where this story can be verified. 
 The cause of the fire was traced to the fact of the fire 
 in the grate having been raked out as usual, some of 
 the hot cinders had reached the wood-flooring, and 
 the table was not far off. I am, Sir, &c, 
 
 ESTHER WELLS. 
 August^i, 1895.
 
 CA TS. 47 
 
 A BIRD AND CAT CATASTROPHE. 
 
 SIR, Here is the story of a cat and a bird. Two 
 young ladies dwelt together, one the owner of a 
 canary, which she petted and played with ; the other 
 was the mistress of a beautiful cat, which was nursed 
 and patted and petted also. They were a happy and 
 united family. The owner of the cat went abroad for 
 a time, and pussy grew sad and melancholy, and at 
 last became jealous of the bird, which was daily petted 
 as usual, while she was sadly neglected. Pussy could 
 not, and would not, stand this treatment ; her jealousy 
 grew day by day till at last, in a fit of rage, she made 
 a dash at the little bird and tore him limb from limb. 
 Then seized by remorse she fled, but the owner of the 
 bird was frantic, and she beat the cat and mourned 
 for her bird ; and the owner of the cat when she 
 heard of the catastrophe shed sad tears, not, indeed, 
 because the bird was dead, but because her pussy 
 had been beaten ; and so the peace of that happy 
 family was destroyed for a time. Pussy, overwhelmed 
 with remorse at the crime she had committed, was 
 found the next day curled up and asleep in the little 
 bird's cage. Now, the problem for psychologists re-
 
 48 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 quired to be solved is, why did that cat go into that 
 cage ? The only solution that suggests itself to the 
 persons concerned is, that by going there she thought 
 she might regain the favour of the mistress whose 
 happiness she had so ruthlessly destroyed, by taking 
 the place of the bird, and so, perhaps, in due time, 
 be changed into a little petted bird herself. I am, 
 Sir, &c., CATALONIA. 
 
 October 19, 1895.
 
 CA TS. 49 
 
 " BUFF." 
 
 SlR, I have read with interest for many years the 
 dog-stories in the Spectator, therefore I will con- 
 tribute to your pages, with your permission, an in- 
 stance of sagacity in a large and very handsome 
 Persian cat, which came to my knowledge recently 
 while staying at Bar Harbour, Maine. The maid 
 who fed " Buff," and for whom he seemed to have 
 most affection, was in the habit of putting out the 
 lamps in the parlour, where " Buff" slept on a rug in 
 the corner, after we retired. He is tall enough, when 
 standing on his hind feet, to rattle the knob of the 
 door with his paw, and this is his usual way of 
 asking to be let in. Just as Jennie was going to bed, 
 she heard this sound, and when she opened the door, 
 he mewed and ran toward the stairs ; she followed him 
 to the parlour, and perceived at once it was to put out 
 the lamps she was called. As soon as she had done 
 this, he laid down content. How much reasoning did 
 this action on the cat's part imply ? I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 M. S. T. 
 October 26, 1895.
 
 BIRDS. 
 
 ROOKS. 
 MY TAME ROOK. 
 
 SlR, The eccentric behaviour of the tame ravens 
 described in your last number appears to be cha- 
 racteristic of their tribe. I have for some time had 
 in my possession a tame rook, whose pranks and 
 oddities are a constant source of amusement to 
 me, and not unfrequently of annoyance to others. 
 " Poppy," when quite young, and still hardly able to 
 fly, was found in our garden, which is quite in the 
 town, and surrounded by streets, and a noisy factory. 
 How he got there, we never discovered ; but being 
 there, he has never left us. At first he was kept in a 
 large cage ; and when I let him out, I held him by a 
 long string attached to his leg. But as he escaped 
 several times, and yet always came back at my call, 
 this constraint was soon abandoned, and perfect 
 liberty allowed him. He never leaves our garden, 
 flies about at will, roosts in the stable, and will come 
 
 5
 
 BIRDS. 51 
 
 into the house whenever allowed. But so mischievous 
 is he, that he has of late been carefully excluded. He 
 leads the cook a life, the other day he was found in 
 the act of carrying a hen's egg off the kitchen table. 
 Last summer, while we were all away from home, 
 " Poppy " was sent to some friends about thirty 
 miles off. There he lived in exactly the same style, 
 seeming no whit disturbed by the change of place or 
 people, and at the end of a month was brought back 
 here again. 
 
 We have also two cats and a dog, " Scrub," an 
 Airedale terrier, who live in considerable awe of 
 " Poppy," as he frequently attacks them, steals their 
 food, and otherwise maltreats them. None of us 
 would much care to take a bone away from " Scrub," 
 but " Poppy," after slyly pecking his tail to attract 
 his attention, darts at the bone and carries it off in 
 triumph. Apparently for the sake of teasing him, 
 " Poppy " has practised and perfected an imitation of 
 his bark, which is so good that I am often puzzled to 
 know whether it be " Scrub " or " Poppy " who is 
 speaking. Only the other day, the cry of one of the 
 cats called my attention to the fact that " Poppy " 
 was hauling away at his tail, and dragging him step 
 by step down the slope of the lawn. " Poppy will 
 also playfully attack children, pecking their legs, and 
 pulling their dress. In his feeding he is almost om- 
 nivorous. The other day, alas ! he forgot himself so 
 far as to burst open the guinea-pigs' cage, and kill 
 and eat one of the little ones. Do rooks usually eat 
 small animals ?
 
 52 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 As I have never heard before of a tame rook, 1 
 thought that perhaps some account of this most inte- 
 resting bird might interest your readers. I can, how- 
 ever, hardly claim to be his tamer, as from his first 
 appearance he showed himself most friendly and 
 sociable. A week or two ago, I was obliged to clip 
 his wings, but only to prevent him entering the bed- 
 rooms and making havoc there. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 KATHARINE H. HODGKINSON. 
 
 July 12, 1890.
 
 BIRDS. 53 
 
 "JACKO." 
 
 SIR, But for a way I have of never doing to-day 
 what I can do to-morrow, you would have received 
 long ago an account of my tame rook, for I have 
 always intended that " Jacko " should, if possible, be 
 honoured with a place in the Spectator. But though 
 through my procrastination " Poppy " has forestalled 
 him, possibly you will generously find room for both, 
 especially if I can make it appear that " Jacko " is the 
 more interesting bird of the two. And so, to begin 
 with, did " Poppy " ever build a nest ? " Jacko " 
 built a splendid one in an apple-tree, and in the 
 autumn two or three years ago ; and for no osten- 
 sible purpose, unless he intended to ask the tame 
 jackdaw a charming little bird that always called 
 itself "John-John" to share it with him, and be- 
 tween whom and " Jacko " there was a strong affec- 
 tion. I must have had him quite five years before, 
 much to my astonishment, it occurred to him to 
 build. I was sitting on the lawn one afternoon, and 
 had noticed " Jacko " march past me two or three 
 times, always with a stick in his beak ; so at last I 
 followed him, and found him hard at work trying to
 
 54 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 lay the foundations of a nest ! He was quite a fort- 
 night over that wonderful nest, though every morning, 
 directly he was loose (he sleeps in a cage in the 
 greenhouse), he began to work, and never stopped, 
 except for his meals, till, quite tired out, he went to 
 his cage at night. I got quite sorry for him, and 
 tried to help him sometimes by holding up sticks to 
 him one at a time, which he took from my hand as 
 he wanted them. When at last the nest was finished, 
 he often had his afternoon nap in it. " John-John " 
 would never look at it. 
 
 There is a small rookery here, and " Jacko " this 
 year, instead of building on his own account, tried to 
 help the wild rooks, following them about with twigs 
 in his beak, and keeping with them all day, often 
 running after them on the lawn with some of his 
 dinner in his beak, wanting to feed them as he fed 
 " John-John " ; but they snubbed him dreadfully. 
 One day poor, social " Jacko " must have thought he 
 had at last found a responsive companion ; for he 
 had flown into one of the bedrooms, and was found 
 bowing and cawing to the rook in the looking-glass ! 
 And more than once since then, he has been met 
 going upstairs with some delicacy in his beak, evi- 
 dently intended for his shadowy love. 
 
 Being interested in " Poppy," I should like to suggest 
 that there may be danger in his having his wings 
 clipped. " Jacko's " were at one time, but never since 
 the day when a neighbour's cat was found in the very 
 act of carrying him off, and when nothing but poor 
 " Jacko's " loud protest against the proceeding which
 
 BIRDS. 55 
 
 was heard in the house saved him. Now he can fly 
 almost as well as any of the wild rooks, and so is safe 
 from any such danger. " Poppy's " mistress writes 
 that they never discovered where he came from, but he 
 would almost certainly come from the nearest rookery. 
 Properly the young rooks do not come to the ground 
 till they can fly well and are quite independent ; it is 
 the poor, forlorn little things that come down too soon 
 that develop into " tame rooks," being altogether 
 dependent upon those who chance to pick them up. 
 I speak from sad experience, for they come down so 
 persistently here, that I sometimes think the old birds 
 " impatient of the worry of them," as, alas ! has 
 been written lately of other parents bundle them 
 over the edge of the nest. I think them quite clever 
 enough to do this, and also to have discovered that 
 the greenhouse here is a kind of foundling hospital, 
 where their cast-out little ones will be sure of a home. 
 In most rookeries the disposal of the young birds is a 
 very simple affair, the sportsman is ready with his 
 gun as soon as the young rooks are ready for flight. 
 I was calling one afternoon on a friend, when a lady 
 I did not know came in, and as she also had a rookery, 
 my friend told her of mine, and said how fond I was 
 of the rooks. " Ah ! " said the lady, " so am I ; I 
 often say that through the season we almost live on 
 rook-pie." And when I suggested that I should not 
 like to see my rooks in a pie, her really delightful 
 answer was : " No ; some people prefer them stewed." 
 I am writing this letter on the lawn, and " Jacko," 
 after having walked up and down it with me for some
 
 56 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 time, is now perched on the garden bench near me, 
 and pretending to be asleep ; but in reality he is 
 wanting to get possession of my letter, and if I were 
 to turn away for a moment, off he would fly with it, 
 for, like " Poppy," " Jacko " is a terrible thief. I wish 
 I could tell him the contents of it, and get him to add 
 a postscript. I am, Sir, &c., S. W. 
 
 July 19, 1890.
 
 BIRDS. 57 
 
 THE ROOK. 
 
 SIR, Your lady-correspondent from Trinity Vicarage, 
 Gainsborough, asks if any instance can be given simi- 
 lar to that of her tamed rook. I can give one such, 
 which I had on the 3rd of last month from Mrs. Cole, 
 of Condover Hall, near Shrewsbury, as follows : 
 
 " I have an old rook which I found on the road-side 
 three years ago, with a gunshot wound in his side and 
 one wing quite blown off. He seemed very old and 
 wild, but I brought him home, and though left com- 
 pletely at liberty in a tree in the garden, he has never 
 failed to eat out of my hand, then, at once, and ever 
 since, and shows the most extraordinary devotion and 
 great intelligence." 
 
 In the same letter, she also sent two other accounts 
 of a kestrel hawk and a rat, which I have had copied 
 to add to that of the rook, in case you may be able 
 to find room for them, as I think they may be as inte- 
 resting to some of your readers as they were to me. 
 They show what may be done with animals and birds 
 by kindness, and are much to the credit of the writer 
 of the letter. I must add that I asked her for leave 
 to make use of them as I might have opportunity,
 
 58 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 and had her ready assent to my doing so. She 
 wrote : 
 
 " I see in your book on ' British Birds,' you state 
 that the kestrel is easily tamed. Our bird was taken 
 from a nest last year, and put into a cage out of doors, 
 for a few days only, until fledged. He was then 
 turned out, and flew across the park into the woods, 
 and was seen no more for some days, when he 
 returned, found his way into the house, and has 
 never voluntarily left it since. We often turn him 
 out, and see him a mile or more from the house, but 
 soon after find him searching for an open window by 
 which he may reach the dining-room, where he lives 
 by preference, perching on a picture-frame, but always 
 coming on to my husband's arm when called, even 
 though with thirty people at dinner, and through the 
 glare of lamps and candles. He invariably twitters a 
 sort of soft song when we speak to him. He is a 
 grand bird, in perfect plumage." ..." I have a white 
 rat, who lives, as all our pets do, entirely loose in the 
 house or garden, perfectly free to leave us if they 
 choose. The rat was given to me as old and worth- 
 less two years ago, then quite wild. He gradually 
 became extremely tame, and during a severe illness 
 I had last year, he took it into his head to sit on my 
 pillow to guard me. Ever since then, he has con- 
 tinued to sleep there ; he runs upstairs with me, and 
 follows me to bed, sleeping always on the bolster or 
 pillow by my head. He is very plucky, and defended 
 himself during one whole night when he was shut up 
 accidentally in the same room with a large and savage
 
 BIRDS. 59 
 
 cat. He was found sitting up, with teeth and claws 
 ready, and was perfectly overjoyed when his human 
 friends took him up. Though six months have 
 elapsed, nothing will induce him to enter that room 
 again. Our dogs are perfect friends with him. He 
 uses his left paw always when drinking, ' ladling ' the 
 water up to his mouth, even from the bottom of a 
 tumbler, and is quite ' left-handed.' " 
 
 I may perhaps add the following account of a rook, 
 or rather of two rooks, which I sent to Land and 
 Water some years back : 
 
 " I read with much interest in your last issue, in 
 Mr. Reid's communication, the following passage : 
 ' I observed a curious thing one day lately. Some 
 food by some good Christian had been thrown out to 
 the starving birds, when a rook came down and flew 
 back to where he had left another rook sitting in a 
 very weak-looking condition, and fed her with what 
 he had picked up. This he did twice in my sight 
 before taking anything to himself. It was a very 
 interesting sight, and I was very much pleased with 
 it.' " 
 
 I was particularly struck with this because I had 
 some time previously received from a correspondent 
 in Wales, a stranger to me, a precisely similar account 
 of another of these birds : 
 
 " What I wanted to mention was this. One day, 
 in the bitterest of the weather, when I am sure our 
 friend the rook I have spoken of was indeed reduced 
 to great extremities, the bird nevertheless performed 
 the following good deed. It picked up a bit of bread,
 
 6o CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 carried it to another rook, which sat on the terrace 
 wall, too shy to come nearer, and fed it there. Nor 
 was this after having satisfied its own hunger, for it 
 had only just alighted." 
 
 When I put this little story down, I had a misgiving 
 that any one who might read it would scarcely be 
 disposed to believe it, as beyond credibility. I was 
 therefore much gratified at having so soon afterwards 
 seen such an exactly similar fact recorded in corro- 
 boration of it, as above. It was indeed, I think, a 
 very touching incident, and one to make every one, 
 I should hope, who reads it, have much good feeling 
 for all God's creatures. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 F. O. MORRIS. 
 
 August 2, 1890.
 
 BIRDS. 6 1 
 
 A COLONY OF ROOKS. 
 
 SIR, Last year you were good enough to publish 
 some letters of mine on the above subject, which, 
 judging from the number of questions I received from 
 many, seem to have proved interesting. May I say, 
 in continuation of the subject, that the rooks have 
 appeared in the same place this year ; but, whereas 
 last year they came with great din and proclamation 
 and quarrelling as then described, this year they 
 literally sneaked in by degrees, and commenced to 
 build quietly without the slightest noise ? Can it be 
 that the hardships of the winter and the present cold 
 have been too much for them, and have effectually 
 cooled down their natural demonstrativeness ? I am, 
 Sir, &c., W. H. W. H. 
 
 March 21, 1891.
 
 62 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 ROOKS IN THE CORN. 
 
 SIR, In the Spectator of May 6th, your correspon- 
 dent, " A Member of the Society for the Protection 
 of Birds," mentions the usefulness of rooks in a corn- 
 field. An old farmer near us is a great friend to the 
 rooks and never allows them to be destroyed, since 
 a day " years ago," when he shot a bird busy among 
 his fresh-sown fields, and, on opening it, found its 
 crop to be full of wireworms. For some time after 
 this incident, " the boys " continued to bring home 
 dead rooks as the spoil of their guns ; but the old 
 man insisted on each being opened, and on every 
 occasion the birds were found to have fed solely on 
 grubs. 
 
 We have a large rookery, and, needless to say, 
 never allow them to be disturbed, much to the indig- 
 nation of a young neighbouring farmer, who declared 
 we should ruin him by our ill-timed humanity. Two 
 years ago, he sowed a large field with wheat, and the 
 operation was no sooner completed than the acreage 
 was black with our rooks. The wrathful owner was 
 in despair, and was advised to plant some other crop 
 on the land, which must of necessity be quite barren
 
 BIRDS. 63 
 
 of seed ; but, to punish us for our folly, he determined 
 to " let the land alone till autumn." He did so, and 
 never reaped a richer harvest. Since then he has 
 " taken note " of the ways of rooks, and believes, with 
 us, that they do more good than harm. Our birds 
 build close to our kitchen-garden, and are regularly 
 fed on the lawn, like fowls, all winter ; and we never 
 even miss a potato. It is said that rooks will follow 
 their friends. This spring we temporarily removed to 
 a house a mile beyond our own property, and three 
 couples of our rooks have taken up their abode in the 
 elm-trees close to our new quarters, and are busy 
 rearing families, and constantly coming to the 
 windows to be fed, as this extremely dry season pro- 
 bably sends the worms and grubs below the sub-soil, 
 and out of reach of their beaks. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY FOR 
 THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS. 
 
 (New Forest Branch.) 
 May 20, 1893.
 
 -64 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 THE HABITS OF ROOKS. 
 
 SIR, Can any of your numerous readers who are 
 lovers of natural history throw light upon the laws 
 and government of that curious commonwealth, a 
 large rookery ? Have the rooks leaders who head 
 their columns when they sally forth at dawn, north, 
 south, east, and west, in so orderly and purposeful 
 a manner, and who marshal the returning hosts in 
 the evening ? 
 
 I have had the opportunity of observing the ways 
 of the inhabitants of one of the largest rookeries in 
 the West-country, and their systematic and unvarying 
 daily routine. In the grey dawn the rooks may be 
 heard holding vociferous council together before 
 starting for their various feeding-grounds, some of 
 which, I am told, are distant more than twenty miles. 
 During the day and until sunset not a single bird 
 is to be seen near home (except in bad weather), so 
 complete is the exodus. The rookery is situated in 
 a belt of lofty beeches and other trees which shelter 
 the beautiful garden in front of a large country house ; 
 the corresponding trees on the east and opposite side 
 also receive a proportion of the birds, but only those,
 
 BIRDS. 65 
 
 I have noticed, which are crowded out of the more 
 favoured quarters. Every evening when the sun has 
 sunk below the horizon, and the trunks of the beeches 
 stand out black against the orange afterglow, the 
 rooks begin to come home ; first in small companies, 
 when a solitary bird sometimes turns back as if to 
 reconnoitre, but presently in a mighty rush which fills 
 the air with a sound as of waves breaking on shingle, 
 heightened by confused cawings and the sharper note 
 of the numberless jackdaws who live in company with 
 the rooks. The choosing of roosting-places is a long 
 and exciting operation, and many times the whole 
 vast multitude rise again and again in a cloud into 
 the air and swirl round and round the house, literally 
 darkening the sky and filling the air far and near as 
 with a great black snow-storm. It is an extraordinary 
 and most interesting sight, and the dusk has deepened 
 into darkness before the countless myriads have 
 settled down to their liking. In summer, detach- 
 ments of the rooks, with the young birds, leave the 
 parent-rookery (like swarms of bees) and go into 
 summer quarters elsewhere, all returning home for 
 the winter and spring. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 CORNWALL. 
 October 5, 1895.
 
 66 CAT AND BIRD STORIES] 
 
 THE HABITS OF ROOKS. 
 
 SlR, That these birds are weatherwise I am firmly 
 convinced, and I think, after continual observation 
 of their habits, that they do elect a leader, or leaders, 
 to head their foraging flocks, at any rate ; also, that 
 they have one or more sentinels stationed at various 
 points when they are feeding, who give an alarm 
 when a foe approaches. I was staying some years 
 ago at a seaside place in North Wales, called Beau- 
 maris, where there was a fine old rookery within a 
 short distance of the town, situated near Sir Richard 
 Bulkeley's residence, Baron Hill, and I, being a very 
 early riser, used to watch the rooks of a morning 
 from my bedroom window. They were wont to 
 assemble at daybreak on the shore, and after a brief 
 consultation, one, or sometimes two grave-looking 
 birds, would rise on the wing and mount carefully 
 into the air ; remain there, as if stationary, for a 
 moment, and then fly seaward followed by the whole 
 company. I noticed them cross the Straits in this 
 fashion several times, and was informed by my land- 
 lady that they went over the water to some famous 
 sands on the Carnarvonshire side, where cockles and
 
 'BIRDS. 67 
 
 other, to use her expression, "shore refuge," abounded. 
 They returned at night about sunset. After a time 
 I observed that on some fine mornings the leaders, 
 instead of going off towards the Straits, wheeled 
 round, and followed by their suite, flew off to Baron 
 Hill Woods. This puzzled me, until I noticed that, 
 however fine the early part of the day had been, the 
 evening always proved stormy or wet, so I came to 
 the conclusion that rooks were good weather-prophets, 
 foresaw a change of wind, and knew how unwise it 
 would be to go over the water on that day. 
 
 I often afterwards had an opportunity of observing 
 the habits of the Anglesea rooks during my stay ; for 
 I took a house on the island, still close to the shore, 
 but some distance from the town, nearer Penmon, and 
 there I have more than once observed rooks feeding 
 amongst the seaweeds left by the receding tide, rise 
 with a shell-fish in their beak to a considerable height, 
 then drop it on the rocks, and descend to pick the 
 fish out of the shell they had so cleverly broken. 
 Mussels seemed to be their particular vanity, but 
 these seaside rooks would eat all kinds of small 
 mollusca. Rooks inland are also slightly carnivorous. 
 I have seen them in severe winters pick bones like 
 magpies, which I have thrown out to them some 
 of the " Selborne rooks," as I call them ; for we have 
 not a rookery very near Liss came here to be fed. 
 I really flattered myself that I had won the confidence 
 of three of them ; for they came regularly every day 
 quite close to the windows, to look for bones and 
 pieces of bread, and without their usual guard, too.
 
 68 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 When they come in a flock, to look for wireworms 
 amongst the young corn in an adjoining field, I 
 always see a black gentleman or two on some tall 
 oak-trees in the field close to this house, waiting to 
 give the danger signal if a man armed appears. I do 
 believe that they must know the gun is an engine of 
 destruction. I could relate more about rooks and 
 jackdaws, but fear this letter is already too long to 
 be received with favour. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 HELEN E. WATNEY. 
 October 19, 1895.
 
 BIRDS. 09 
 
 THE HABITS OF ROOKS. 
 
 SIR, Your correspondent's letter, in the Spectator of 
 October 5th, about rooks leads me to tell you an 
 incident which always seems to me one of the 
 strangest of the many stories of the sagacity of 
 rooks. We were living some years ago in the 
 suburbs of London, and had a garden in which were 
 a good many fine old elms. They grew in an irregular 
 line down the length of the lawn, and were continued 
 beyond the boundary hedge half-way across the field 
 beyond. The trees in the field were full of rooks' 
 nests, and were a perpetual interest and amusement 
 to watch but never a nest was built in the trees on 
 our side the hedge till we had been for some years in 
 the house. Then one day we found the rooks had 
 begun a nest in one of our trees, a fine old elm under 
 which we constantly sat and a favourite spot for after- 
 noon tea. This we found was too inconvenient to be 
 borne, as we could no longer sit there, and much as 
 we loved our neighbours, the rooks, we felt they must 
 have notice to quit ; so, before the* nest was finished, 
 I took my husband's revolver and fired through the 
 empty nest. The effect was immense. The whole
 
 70 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 colony gathered and flew round and round the tree, 
 making a great noise for a long time, and within a 
 few hours they removed every twig of the nearly 
 completed nest and rebuilt it, this time in the next 
 tree, which was only a few yards distant, but grew 
 on the other side of the hedge. They never tres- 
 passed again. After some years we left the house, 
 and the move took place just at the time the rooks 
 were beginning to build. About ten days after we 
 left, I returned to the old house for a few hours, and 
 found to my astonishment that the rooks were in full 
 possession of our garden, and had already made five 
 or six nests in the trees on our lawn, some of them 
 close to the house. The gardener was still at work, 
 and a caretaker with children in the house, so that 
 it was not the greater quiet that tempted them. I 
 am, Sir, &c., A. E. THOMPSON. 
 
 October 19, 1895.
 
 BIRDS. 71 
 
 THE HABITS OF ROOKS. 
 
 SIR, The rookery here is of considerable antiquity, 
 although at first sight it is not easy to see what has 
 so endeared it to the birds. The grove wherein they 
 build is reputed to have been planted shortly after 
 the Restoration. The trees are placed on a steep 
 hillside facing Dartmoor, and having run up very 
 high, their frail, mastlike stems sway in heavy 
 storms with exciting oscillations. Dartmoor and its 
 outskirts is a treeless region, and probably many 
 years after my ancestress had put in her young trees, 
 the great rarity of shelter elsewhere fixed the affection 
 of the first builders. Subsequently, and all through 
 this century, the inland combes and hillsides have 
 grown more wooded, yet no thought of less storm- 
 tossed homes seems to tempt our friends of many 
 generations to leave us. One notable trait is their 
 eminent preference for the beech-tree. The lime and 
 other native trees they tolerate. But new-fangled firs 
 and such-like they will not abide, although they are 
 very ready to use the towering top of a silver-fir as 
 a spying-post for their sentinejs. And how wise 
 their instinct was has been abundantly made clear 
 to us, for in the great blizzard some years ago, while
 
 72 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 the aged beeches bent like whips and lived, the heavily 
 clad firs toppled and perished. 
 
 Every one has heard that rooks hate being crowded, 
 and so we have found out. A good many years back, 
 my father, having rather neglected their feelings, and 
 kept back his ukase for the triennial massacre of the 
 youngsters, a great deal of bad blood arose. There 
 was much discussion and some conflict ; the upshot 
 of which was that a certain number (presumably 
 young birds) were ostracised. These outcasts took 
 up their abode in a humbler beech-grove, within a 
 gunshot of the house ; and there until quite lately 
 a few nests have steadily been built. But the move- 
 ment was never very successful ; and now that the 
 home-rookery has been depleted by the recent stormy 
 winters, and by a somewhat severe slaughter, it is 
 evident that the exiles will be received back. In the 
 year, however, subsequent to the first expulsion, 
 stronger measures seemed required by the rulers 
 of the rooks, and an unheard-of thing, a colony, was 
 despatched to the churchyard avenue of limes, a mile 
 away. The undertaking was bold and statesmanlike ; 
 but in a few years it ceased to be. No self-respecting 
 rook could bear the meanness and stress of village 
 life, after having tasted the solemn solitude of its 
 native grove, or build in limes when beeches were 
 to be had. So the churchyard knows them no more. 
 The movements of our Queen from Windsor to 
 Osborne, and Osborne to Balmoral, are not more 
 regular than those of the rooks. Once the breeding- 
 time is well over, and the young fledglings capable
 
 BIRDS. 73 
 
 of something more than flapping round from bough 
 to bough, comes a season of happy excursions. Then 
 presently the swaying trees are free day and night 
 of the busy chatter and solemn cawings they have 
 been alive with for previous weeks. All the summer 
 days, out in the heart of the solitary moors, guarded 
 for the most part by some reverend elder perched 
 on any handy granite boulder, the gregarious tribe 
 pursues its pleasures and its food unless tempted 
 inland by the riches of the cultivated fields. All the 
 summer evenings in ordered array they fly down from 
 the Tors, straight across the leafy canopy of their 
 beloved grove, nor stay their pinions until they come 
 to their summer bed-chambers in a richly wooded 
 valley some six miles westward. Now, when autumn 
 is well advanced, they are returning to their rookery. 
 Every evening, of late, I have seen their sentinel 
 perched on the topmost bough of a silver-fir. With 
 true military instinct the vedette is usually posted 
 on a lofty tree which has begun to die downward. 
 So the sentinel sees and is seen with greater freedom, 
 and there is no doubt as to his office. 
 
 Such have been the habits of the birds so long as 
 I can recall, and such, I doubt not, they will remain 
 until some fierce winter gale uproots their habitation. 
 In the meantime the owner of their grove is anxiously 
 contriving a fresh beechen home for his sable neigh- 
 bours. But it does not at all follow that the rooks 
 will consent to approve his efforts. I am, Sir, &c., 
 V. W. CALMADY HAMLYN. 
 
 November 9, 1895.
 
 74 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 THE HABITS OF ROOKS. 
 
 SIR, Rooks must either have very keen sight or 
 very keen scent. I have frequently passed near a 
 flight of rooks settled on a field, with a stick in my 
 hand ; but I could never get near them with a gun 
 in my hand. To test the matter, I have aimed at 
 them with the stick, but they remained perfectly 
 unconcerned. Can it be that they smell the powder ? 
 I am inclined to think it was sight after all, for I do 
 not remember that I approached them any more 
 easily from the leeward. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 W. F. HERBERT. 
 November 9, 1895.
 
 BIRDS. 75 
 
 THE HABITS OF ROOKS. 
 
 SlR, For nine years I lived under the shadow of a 
 rookery, and took notes of proceedings there. It was 
 not a very old one, but a recent offshoot (I was told) 
 from the ancient one of Hankshead Hall at the foot 
 of the hill, where part of the buildings, granary and 
 mill, erected by the monks of Furness, stand to this 
 day. There the rooks' trees were compact, flat-topped 
 oaks, while with us they were mostly beech-trees ; and 
 I had the idea (mistaken, perhaps) that the birds only 
 took to the beeches, planted about the avenue to a 
 house nearly five hundred feet above the sea-level, 
 because no other large trees were to be had in the 
 neighbourhood. For it was noticeable that while the 
 beech-grove was itself larger, they used every other 
 odd kind of tree that happened to be against it. On 
 the north side of the house the farm-buildings were 
 shut out by a compact clump of mixed trees wych- 
 elms, horse-chestnuts, sycamore, spruce, and larch. 
 Every one of these trees was used by the rooks, the 
 two spruces and the sycamore particularly, contain- 
 ing a great many nests each. On the avenue, or 
 south side, where the beeches were, they tried
 
 76 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 at different times to nest in a Spanish chestnut, 
 a lime, and a hornbeam, all of them tall, spindly 
 specimens, pressed in by the beeches. These 
 attempts, however, were not repeated ; and the 
 increase of nests in the beeches was gradual but firm, 
 with the increase of the colony. A computation gave 
 the total number of nests as (at least) sixteen in 1887 ; 
 and were by 1894 as many (at least) as fifty. The 
 difficulty in counting lay in the (apparently) double 
 nests, which often in the spruce-fir and the beech were 
 backed up against each other. Indeed, I came to 
 the conclusion that the rooks loved a semi-detached 
 residence ; while the establishment of a nest on an 
 out-standing tree as in a fine, lonely sycamore by 
 the back gate was always resisted by the colony. 
 
 Often in spring gales there were calamities in the 
 rookery. The one of April 28, 1892, coming so late, 
 when eggs were laid and hard set and even chipped 
 was peculiarly disastrous. I remember picking up 
 and turning over the fallen nests in the shrubbery, 
 with their contents shattered, hard by (some of them 
 were weighty with old linings that had attained a 
 peat-like consistency). And all I could find were 
 blown from beech-trees, none were on the north side, 
 though, of course, some may have been wrecked that 
 did not fall. When the storm had subsided and the 
 happier rooks were at ease again, and not clinging, 
 distraught, to the wind-tossed boughs of the more 
 sheltered trees, it was a curious and pitiful sight to 
 see some rooks (to the number of about double the 
 wretched nests) withdrawn from the noisy nursery to
 
 BIRDS. 77 
 
 a lonely fell-side ash, where they perched in solemn 
 stillness. Whatever the worth of the beech-tree as a 
 nest-site for the rooks, it is certain that the beechen- 
 bough is in great favour with them as nest-material. 
 For the builders continually break the tender, pliant, 
 sometimes forked, twig-ends and carry them off to 
 lay and twine into that basket form that only the sap- 
 filled twig will take. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 MARY L. ARMITT. 
 November 30, 1895.
 
 78 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 ROOKS. 
 
 SlR, -The following account of some manoeuvres 01 
 an army of rooks in Normandy may be of interest to 
 some of your readers. Early in this month I was 
 passing along the valley of the river Eure, in Nor- 
 mandy, when I stopped to watch the proceedings of 
 these rooks, which were assembling in large quantities 
 on the low hills on the left side of the little river- 
 valley. As the rooks flew in from all sides to this 
 rendezvous, they settled down on the hill-side in six 
 separate bodies or regiments, each regiment being 
 separated from those on either side of it by a 
 distance of some fifty to a hundred yards. In this 
 position they remained, till apparently all the rooks 
 had arrived. When the last late-comers had settled 
 down, however, a band of ten or twelve flew up from 
 the first regiment that is to say, the one which had 
 taken up its position nearest the spot where I was 
 standing, and which was on the extreme right of the 
 line. This body then flew away in the direction away 
 from the river presumably to search the country for 
 other stragglers, for in a few minutes they returned, 
 their number increased to seventeen or so. No sooner
 
 BIRDS. 79 
 
 had these last settled down, than a single rook got up 
 from the first regiment, and started to fly down the 
 line, causing an immense clamour of cawing as he 
 went ; having reached the farther end, the sixth 
 regiment as I must call it, for want of a better term 
 the sixth regiment rose into the air as one rook, 
 and flew down into the valley, to settle in the trees 
 forming an avenue on each side of the river. The 
 aide-de-camp rook then commenced his flight back 
 along the line, and as he repassed, each of the remain- 
 ing regiments, one after another, rose separately into 
 the air, and flew down to the trees by the river, where 
 they all settled down for the night. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 G. P. D. 
 November 30, 1895.
 
 8o CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 CUCKOOS. 
 THE CUCKOO AND ITS FOSTER-MOTHER. 
 
 SIR, Seeing that natural history finds a place in the 
 Spectator, I venture to send you the following incident 
 in bird-life, a common occurrence of course, but per- 
 haps not often witnessed. I am occupying a house 
 in the valley of the Itchen, and looking out the other 
 morning from my bedroom window, I observed a 
 large bird squatting listlessly on the gravel-walk 
 below. I wondered what it could be ; it was neither 
 blackbird, thrush, nor turtle-dove, which latter, at first 
 sight, it resembled. Presently my difficulty was 
 solved ; another bird appeared on the scene ; the first 
 was a young, fully fledged cuckoo, the other, a water- 
 wagtail, his foster-mother ; and never was offspring 
 more tenderly nurtured. Throughout the day the 
 cuckoo might constantly be seen, either on the 
 ground, tree, or fence near by, the stolid recipient of 
 every insect the little bird, running, flying, and flutter- 
 ing hither and thither, could catch and carry to the 
 insatiable maw of her changeling. When the cuckoo 
 was on the ground, she ran up to him, and, standing
 
 BIRDS. 81 
 
 on tip-toe, placed the food in his mouth ; when seated 
 on the fence, she perched on his back, and the cuckoo, 
 turning his head, received the dainty morsel. At first 
 he remained for a quarter of an hour or so in the same 
 place and position, then he and his foster-mother 
 would fly off together ; he to light on tree or fence, 
 and she to minister to his wants as before ; later he 
 became more lively, and hopped about after the run- 
 ning water-wagtail ; then he withdrew himself from 
 public gaze, among the trees and shrubs, the wagtail 
 still continuing to feed him. The pair were first 
 observed on the 4th inst, but since the 2ist we think 
 that he is gone, for we imagine we can identify the 
 foster-mother from that date, seeking her own living, 
 trotting about the lawn with nothing to distract her, 
 but whether in sadness at the loss, or joy at being 
 relieved from the care of her exacting child, who can 
 say ? We congratulate the wee thing on her emanci- 
 pation. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 ALFRED BONHAM-CARTER. 
 August 29, 1891.
 
 82 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 THE CUCKOO. 
 
 SIR, May I supplement your correspondent's 
 account of the cuckoo by our own experience this 
 summer ? A wagtail built in the ivy on our school 
 chapel, and laid, as we supposed, six eggs. Much as 
 I wished for one for our collection, I felt that the nest 
 was too much " in sanctuary," and left them alone ; 
 and one Sunday all but one were hatched. This last 
 came out on Monday evening, and on Tuesday morn- 
 ing I visited the nest ; and behold ! all but one of the 
 young ones were dead some on the ground, and 
 some in the nest. I called for my brother, and he 
 and the gardener came up and took the survivor, 
 which was quite a different colour, and much bigger 
 than the corpses, out of the nest, and my brother at 
 once said it must be a cuckoo. So it proved to be, 
 and was for three weeks a great source of interest and 
 amusement to us all, especially as it grew and 
 fledged ; and the boys were taken to see it most days 
 in detachments. The poor little wagtails had a hard 
 time of it, as it had an enormous appetite. I tried to 
 help them by feeding it twice a day with chopped-up 
 egg, which the little monster swallowed voraciously
 
 BIRDS 83 
 
 down its huge and bright-orange throat. It grew to 
 about the size of a pigeon, and one evening, on being 
 a little teased, it suddenly flew away, and was only 
 seen once again on the railing, with the patient wag- 
 tails still supplying it with food. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 E. E. B 
 September 12, 1891.
 
 84 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 AN HONEST CUCKOO. 
 
 SIR, The following instance of unusual conduct on 
 the part of this bird may, I think, interest your 
 readers. I copy it from the Bristol Times and Mirror 
 of yesterday : 
 
 "Westerman's Moaats Hefte contains an account 
 by Professor Adolf Miiller of a cuckoo who, abandon- 
 ing the dishonest practice of her species, hatched and 
 reared her young. On May 16, 1888, Herr Miiller 
 was crossing a wood, when a cuckoo started almost 
 from under his feet. He examined the ground care- 
 fully, and discovered beneath a tussock of grass, in a 
 little hollow, three eggs. The first was light-yellow 
 with brown spots ; the second, orange with greenish 
 lines ; the third, smaller than the others, was of a 
 greenish-gray with minute red spots and blotches of 
 reddish-brown. The Professor, with true German 
 patience, came every day, and, by the aid of an opera- 
 glass, observed, without disturbing her, the habits of 
 the extraordinary bird which chance had revealed to 
 him. She proceeded to sit with irreproachable regu- 
 larity. In ten days a young one was hatched. The 
 mother abandoned the two sterile eggs, and devoted
 
 BIRDS. 85 
 
 herself to the little cuckoo, whom she sheltered under 
 her wings in the keen morning air, and supplied with 
 caterpillars from a neighbouring oak-copse. In three 
 weeks it could fly, whereas under the care of foster- 
 parents young cuckoos do not master that accom- 
 plishment until after the lapse of six or seven weeks. 
 A noteworthy fact in the discovery is that the cuckoo 
 can lay eggs of different sizes and colours." 
 
 This is certainly a very unusual occurrence, and one 
 which it would be interesting to have verified. Per- 
 haps some of your readers may have heard of it 
 before, or you, Sir, may know of the paper Moaats 
 Hefte, and whether the account is likely to be worthy 
 of credence ? I am, Sir, &c., R. L. BOWLEY 
 
 August 13, 1892.
 
 86 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 THE CUCKOO. 
 
 SIR, Your correspondent, Mr. Bowley, after quoting 
 the case of a cuckoo which hatched and reared its own 
 young, asks if" any of your readers have heard of this 
 case before." I, for one, am familiar with it, but 
 unfortunately my ornithological books are all in 
 Edinburgh, and I cannot refer to the case ; but I 
 think it is given in the last edition of Garrell, which 
 shows that the author believed Herr Miiller to be a 
 trustworthy authority. I confess, however, I do not 
 remember the statement that this particular young 
 cuckoo was able to fly in less than half the usual 
 time. It is singular that all the American cuckoos 
 hatch and rear their own eggs, whilst the myriads of 
 American starlings (a closely allied bird) are all 
 parasitical. 
 
 I would not, however, have ventured to trouble you 
 as to the cuckoo were it not that its name suggests to 
 me the most obscure of all questions of bird-life, that 
 of migration. I think I have read nearly all that 
 English ornithologists have said on the subject, and 
 in my humble opinion not one of them have fairly 
 grappled with this most mysterious circumstance in the
 
 .3IRDS. 87 
 
 life of birds. One writer after another, with almost 
 cuckoo similarity of voice, tells us that summer 
 migrants leave us when their special food becomes 
 scarce, and when cold reminds them of bright winter 
 homes. They tell us and in this case truly that 
 when they cross seas they follow lines of flight that 
 their ancestors pursued thousands of years ago, when 
 there was no sea there to cross, and before man was 
 introduced into the world. Thus there are well-known 
 lines of flight across the Mediterranean which the same 
 species of birds have followed for unknown ages. No 
 doubt the design of Providence was to preserve 
 species by causing them to seek warmth and food 
 when the places of their nativity grew cold and fruit- 
 less. But for all that, birds leave us in autumn at 
 certain seasons quite irrespective of cold or want of 
 food, just as bees frequently seek their hibernaculum 
 while the weather is still mild, and emerge from them 
 in spring, though the weather may be colder than 
 when they went to hibernate. 
 
 But the question I wish to ask naturalists regards 
 the migration of the young cuckoo. It sees the light, 
 let us say, in this remote island (and they are very 
 numerous here). It never saw its parents. These 
 leave us in August, but their unseen offspring remain 
 till September, and even till October. What guides 
 them along the very lines their parents took a month 
 before? What do they know of the lines of flight 
 pursued over dry land ages ago? Is it some 
 hereditary influence (of which the* bird is as ignorant 
 as we are), which burns in its brain, and sends it forth
 
 88 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 in darkness and without a guide or compass to follow 
 the old but to it unknown flight from Northern 
 Europe to join its kindred in distant Africa? 
 
 Perhaps science is utterly baffled, and cannot im- 
 prove upon Addison, who said : " Migration is a 
 direct impulse from the Almighty." I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 R. SCOT SKIRVING. 
 
 August 27, 1892.
 
 BIRDS. 89 
 
 THE HONEST CUCKOO. 
 
 SIR, I turned with as great expectation to the letter 
 from Mr. Scot Skirving about the cuckoo in your last 
 issue as I did to that published in the Spectator of 
 August 1 3th, headed "An Honest Cuckoo." But I 
 was destined to quite as much disappointment. The 
 causes of my disappointment were these : 
 
 i. The matter referred to by your correspondent, 
 Mr. Bowley, of August I3th, was not new to me by 
 any means. The first note of the observations of 
 Herr Adolf Mliller was not given in " Westermann's 
 Monatshefte " (not " Moaatshefte "), but in the Garten- 
 laube ; and from the Gartenlaube an admirable free 
 translation was made some time ago in the Ibis an 
 English repository of facts in ornithology by a most 
 competent ornithologist. The more recent German 
 note gave rise to paragraphs in London papers, the 
 Echo amongst others, from which the Bristol Times 
 and Mirror no doubt copied ; and seeing you have 
 so often had to make claims against provincial papers 
 for getting the credit of your own paragraphs, you 
 will, no doubt, be pleased to do this justice to the 
 Echo, whose egg has, cuckoo-like, been dropped into 
 the nest of the Bristol paper.
 
 90 CAT AND BIRD STORIES 
 
 2. I expected some further light from the letter in 
 your last issue which I did not get, and light for 
 which I am eager, and would most heartily welcome. 
 
 The notion that the cuckoo sometimes hatches its 
 own eggs is old. Dr. Erasmus Darwin expressed his 
 belief, based on observation, that this was so ; and he 
 supported his position by quoting a letter from the 
 Rev. Mr. Wilmot, of Morley, near Derby, describing 
 an instance of a cuckoo hatching its own eggs (it 
 could hardly be said to nest, for it simply laid them 
 in a depression among some coal-slack). This was in 
 1792. The cuckoo was first observed by one of Mr. 
 Wilmot's labourers, and was afterwards watched by 
 Mr. Wilmot himself ; and many of his friends came 
 to see the curiosity, among others a Mr. and Mrs. 
 Holyoake. Mr. Blackwall, the distinguished orni- 
 thologist, critically dealt with this case in the Zoo- 
 logical Journal for 1829, and came to the conclusion 
 that all were misled, and mistook a night-jar for a 
 cuckoo, which implies more ignorance than can well 
 be believed on the part of a rustic, a country clergy- 
 man, and a country gentleman and lady ; since the 
 bristly quills or undeveloped feathers that hang from 
 the upper part of the mouth of the night-jar over 
 the lower are such a striking distinguishing feature, 
 especially when the birds are seen sitting. Mr. Black- 
 wall's reasons are not wholly convincing at all events 
 to me. Since then there have now and again been 
 notes made by observers to the same effect. The 
 gentleman who writes under the name of " Cannock 
 Brand," in his article on the " Cuckoo " in Longman's
 
 BIRDS. 91 
 
 Magazine, June, 1891, spoke of one or two instances 
 known to him ; and an Essex naturalist known to 
 me declares an experience of the same kind. It is 
 evident that the cuckoo at one time though a remote 
 time nested and brooded its own young, and there 
 is surely no impossibility in reversions to original 
 habit in rare circumstances here, as is found to be 
 the case in many other instances. 
 
 One of the great arguments against the cuckoo 
 brooding is its peculiarity of formation, the stomach 
 lying beneath the sternum ; but not to speak of 
 the night-jar, which so far shares the peculiarity, and 
 yet hatches its eggs and broods its young there are 
 the two common North American cuckoos which are 
 so formed, and yet brood their young, one species 
 doing it under a most extraordinary form of com- 
 munism. " Cannock Brand " gives a case of finding 
 on Wimbledon Common a cuckoo that had laid an 
 e gg> or e gg s > on the ground, and he came to the con- 
 clusion from what I think was a too narrow basis 
 of facts that the cuckoo eats its own eggs : a thing 
 which Yarrell (latest edition) will give no countenance 
 to, saying that the notion arises simply from the 
 cuckoo carrying its eggs in its mouth to deposit them 
 in other birds' nests. 
 
 Some very noted ornithologists have been inclined 
 to scout the idea of the young cuckoo turning out 
 the true progeny of the foster parents. Within the past 
 few years this has been most carefully observed, and 
 reported with the most exact details, by competent 
 ornithologists the one the well-known bird painter,
 
 92 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 Mrs. Blackburn, and the other the equally well-known 
 Northern ornithologist, Mr. J. Hancock. This proves 
 that, even with experts, it is not safe to dogmatise 
 too much on any point connected with such a vagrant 
 as the cuckoo. 
 
 But, the truth is, though I am but an amateur, I 
 am an earnest inquirer on this matter, and would be 
 glad of any further information that can be procured 
 about the cuckoo and its exceptional habits. I am, 
 Sir, &c., ALEXANDER H. JAPP. 
 
 September 17, 1892.
 
 BIRDS. 93 
 
 AN HONEST CUCKOO. 
 
 SIR, In the Spectator of August I3th a correspon- 
 dent drew your attention to an account, given in 
 " Westermann's Monatshefte," by Professor Adolf 
 Miiller, of " an honest cuckoo," who hatched and 
 reared her young. It may interest some of your readers 
 to know that Professor Miiller reported a similar case 
 in a most interesting article on the cuckoo's egg, 
 published in 1873 m tne Gartenlaube(No. 25, p. 407) ; 
 the main difference being that in this case Professor 
 Miiller was not an eye-witness, but relies on the 
 authority of Herr Kiessel, of St. Johann on the Saar, 
 an equally well-known bird-lover. 
 
 According to this account, it is proved conclusively 
 by Kiessel and three other eye-witnesses, that towards 
 the end of May, 1868, a cuckoo reared her young in 
 a wood near St. Johann. The bird was discovered 
 by the woodmen sitting on two eggs which lay simply 
 on the ground amid the heath, without any traces of 
 a nest. Kiessel himself observed the bird regularly, 
 and saw that both the eggs wqre hatched, and the 
 little birds reared with perfect tenderness and care. 
 
 These facts, as Miiller points out, emphasise the
 
 94 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 kinship which exists between our cuckoo and its 
 American cousins, the black-billed or red-eyed cuckoo, 
 and the yellow-billed or rain cuckoo. The latter has, 
 I believe, been seen in England also. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 J. B. S. BARRATT. 
 October 29, 1892.
 
 BIRDS. 95 
 
 THE CUCKOO. 
 
 SIR, In your article in the Spectator of May I3th 
 on "Cuckoos and Nightingales," you say that the 
 popular feeling in England in favour of the cuckoo 
 is " certainly of recent growth." Is this so certain as 
 you seem to think it ? The earliest reference that I 
 know to the cuckoo seems to me to express exactly 
 the common feeling of to-day : 
 
 KCU? KOKKV&l pVO tV ITtToXaffl 
 
 TO irpdiTOV, rljOTrei Sf. (3pOTOv<; tic arra'pova yoTav," 
 
 says Hesiod, who, in " The Works and Days," cer- 
 tainly represents the ordinary feelings of the early 
 Greek peasant. Moreover, a reference to such well- 
 known books as Johnson's Dictionary and Masson's 
 " Three Centuries of English Poetry " will show that 
 the same feeling prevailed in the days of great 
 Elizabeth : 
 
 " The merry cuckoo, messenger of spring, 
 His trumpet shrill hath twice already sounded," 
 
 says Spenser.
 
 96 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 " Hark how the jolly cuckoos sing, 
 Cuckoo to welcome in the spring," 
 
 says Lyly, of " Euphues " fame. 
 
 " And we hear birds aye tune this merry lay, 
 Cuckoo, jug-jug, pee-we, to-witta-woo," 
 
 says Thomas Nash. 
 
 Have you not allowed your feelings of reprobation 
 of the moral character of the cuckoo to interfere 
 with your judgment as to his pleasant note? I am, 
 Sir, &c., E. F. 
 
 May 20, 1893.
 
 BIRDS. 97 
 
 STORKS. 
 SELF-SACRIFICE OF A FEMALE STORK. 
 
 SIR, The animal world abounds in examples of 
 parental affection ; still, the following incident, which 
 I take from a German paper, may interest both your 
 scientific and lay readers. At Neuendorf, in the 
 Teltow district (Prussia), the lightning struck the 
 gable-end of a barn, where a pair of storks had built 
 their nest for years. The flames soon caught the 
 nest, in which the helpless brood was piteously 
 screaming. The mother-stork now protectingly 
 spread out her wings over the young ones, with 
 whom she was burnt alive, although she might have 
 saved herself easily enough by flight After a short 
 time the male stork returned, and flew for hours in 
 despair round the desolate home. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 EIN THIERFREUND. 
 July 5, 1890.
 
 98 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A STORK'S SELF-SACRIFICE. 
 
 SIR, Your correspondent, " Ein Thierfreund," has 
 given a touching instance of parental affection in his 
 letter on " The Self-Sacrifice of a Female Stork." It 
 is not without parallel. I take the following from 
 Appendix D of Mr. Mark Twain's " Tramp Abroad," 
 which I am sure would interest both your scientific 
 and lay readers : 
 
 " In the daybeforeyesterdayshortlyaftereleveno'clock 
 Night, the inthistownstandingTavern called ' The 
 Waggoner ' was downburnt. When the fire to the 
 onthedownburninghouseresting Stork's Nest reached, 
 flew the parent Storks away. But when the bythe- 
 ragingfiresurrounded Nest itself caught Fire, straight- 
 way plunged the quickreturning MotherStork into 
 the Flames and died, her Wings over her young ones 
 outspread." 
 
 This was from a Mannheim journal I am, Sir, &c. 
 
 H. O. D. 
 
 July 12, 1890.
 
 BIRDS. 99 
 
 A STORK MONOPOLIST. 
 
 SIR, The following incident, illustrating the reason- 
 ing faculty in the stork, took place in my Swedish 
 home. It may possibly interest your readers. 
 
 In Skane, in the southern part of Sweden, a pair 
 of storks lived for many years on the roof of my 
 father's parsonage. One spring, a pair of young 
 storks appeared in the place, who, after surveying 
 the old nest probably their parental home set 
 about building their habitation on the opposite side 
 of the roof. When it was finished and the eggs had 
 been laid, the old female stork returned, took a look 
 at the new-comers, but allowed them to remain in 
 their home in peace. Her attention was soon occu- 
 pied by a number of young suitors, who zealously 
 wooed her, though she rejected all their offers. Some 
 days later this Penelope among birds was rewarded 
 by the arrival of her old mate. But then came an 
 end to the truce with the young birds. That very 
 evening, the old stork, followed by his female com- 
 panion, flew to the nest of the new-comers. By 
 violent blows of their beaks they first put the young 
 male stork to flight, and then began to attack the
 
 ioo CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 sitting hen. Patiently she suffered all ill-usage and 
 remained upon her eggs. The assailants then altered 
 their tactics. One continued to attack the young 
 mother-bird, while the other, watching till in her 
 struggles to evade the blows an. egg became un- 
 covered, instantly pushed it out of the nest. Thus, 
 one by one, the four precious eggs were remorselessly 
 sacrificed. When all the eggs had been destroyed, 
 the young female stork, after standing for some time 
 in the courtyard, looking up to her ruined home as if 
 in despair, sadly flew away. There was never any 
 sign of that pair of storks on our roof again. The 
 old ones had attained their end henceforth they 
 were the only storks in that part of the country, and 
 were left in sole possession of its food supply. To 
 the inhabitants of our parsonage, whose sympathies 
 for the old storks were thus rudely shaken, it seemed 
 a just retribution that, though the birds had some 
 eggs that summer, none were hatched, and thus the 
 old storks had to return alone to their Southern 
 quarters that winter a solitary pair ! I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 ANNA GLASELL-ANDERSON. 
 February 4, 1 893.
 
 BIRDS. ioi 
 
 PARROTS AND CANARIES. 
 BIRDS AND PICTURES. 
 
 SIR, After reading your correspondent's interest- 
 ing letter in the Spectator of April 2Oth, about a dog 
 taking notice of a picture, I venture to relate a 
 similar instance. I have a most intelligent tame 
 canary which has the habit of looking at his reflection 
 in a mirror, sometimes singing and dressing his 
 feathers before it. Recently I showed him several 
 coloured pictures of birds ; he immediately came on 
 my finger, sang, pecked at them, and appeared greatly 
 excited. I have frequently tried the same experi- 
 ment since, and have always succeeded in rousing my 
 little friend. I am, Sir, &c., E. E. R. 
 
 April 27, 1889.
 
 102 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A PARROT'S RECOGNITION OF A LIKE- 
 NESS. 
 
 SIR, I had, a couple of years ago, a king parrot. 
 He used to fly about my study. On the table I have 
 a letter-weight in the form of a parrot. The king 
 parrot was constantly in the habit of going through 
 the process of " feeding " the leaden parrot. I am, 
 Sir, &c., W. R. T. 
 
 May II, 1889.
 
 BIRDS. 103 
 
 A COCKATOO'S HUMOUR. 
 
 SIR, In confirmation of the statement made in your 
 article upon " Talking Birds," that " cockatoos are 
 almost like monkeys in mimicking men," I beg to 
 send you the following simple story, the truth 
 of which I have every reason to believe, although 
 not personally an eye-witness of the performance. 
 I received the account from a bishop. A very tame 
 sulphur-crested white cockatoo happened to be on 
 his perch near a lawn-tennis ground. The day was 
 damp and the ground slippery. In the course of the 
 game several falls occurred. Each tumble gave rise 
 to much laughter and merriment amongst both players 
 and onlookers, which seemed to attract the especial 
 attention of the bird. When the " set " was finished, 
 and the performers were talking together on one side 
 of the court, " Cocky " quietly descended from his 
 stand, walked on to the lawn-tennis ground, rolled 
 over and over two or three times on the grass, and 
 then picking himself up, laughed long and loud in 
 exact imitation of the players ! I v am, Sir, &c., 
 
 W. HILL JAMES, Lieut-Col. 
 October 1 8, 1890.
 
 QAT AND BIRD STORIES, 
 
 THE SONG OF THE CANARY. 
 
 SIR, I am obliged to your correspondent, "M. 
 H. T.," for the remarks on the song of the wild 
 canary in the Spectator of October 25th, which fully 
 bear out my statement of the difference between the 
 note of the wild bird and the song which it has ac- 
 quired and transmitted to its posterity in captivity. 
 I am sorry if I have done an injustice to their natural 
 song. Dr. Bolle states that it is much inferior to that 
 of the caged bird ; and Wilson, speaking of the 
 American wild canary, says : " Its song is so weak as 
 to appear to proceed from a considerable distance, 
 when perhaps the bird is perched on a tree over your 
 head," though he has " heard some sing in cages with 
 great energy and determination." 
 
 Your correspondent, however, has misunderstood the 
 point of my article ; he says that if I heard the song 
 of the wild canaries, I should never again say that 
 theirs was a borrowed song. The statement was not 
 that the wild canaries had borrowed a song, but that 
 the domesticated birds had acquired a different one. 
 I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 THE WRITER OF THE ARTICLE ON 
 
 "TALKING BIRDS." 
 November 8, 1890.
 
 BIRDS. 105 
 
 THE CANARY BIRD. 
 
 SIR, One word more on this subject. Having at 
 one time bred canaries for a good many years, and 
 having also spent a winter in Madeira, I never was 
 more surprised than by the statement of the author of 
 your article on " Talking Birds," that the song of the 
 canary is an acquired one. I went to Madeira quite 
 ignorant of the existence there of the wild canary- 
 finch. Two or three days after my arrival, I heard, 
 and afterwards saw, in the garden of the quinta where 
 I was staying, what I never for a moment doubted to 
 be an escaped captive, until my hostess informed me 
 to the contrary. 
 
 I should say that the song of the canary has varied 
 less in captivity than the plumage, although it has 
 grown louder, and often harsher. An exact reverter 
 to the wild type in both respects sometimes occurs. 
 I have had a cock-bird the descendant, no doubt, 
 of many generations of captives which might, I 
 believe, have been turned out in Madeira without any 
 one discovering from either song or plumage that it 
 was not a wild one. I arn, Sir, &c., J. M. L. 
 
 November 15, 1890.
 
 io6 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A TALKING CANARY. 
 
 SIR, Having read your article on " Talking Birds," 
 in the Spectator of October 4th, I think you may like 
 to hear of a canary who had been taught to repeat a 
 phrase, and could do it much more sweetly than a 
 parrot. He was not a German bird, nor of any re- 
 markable breed at all, and was bought when very 
 young, chiefly on account of his beauty. His colour 
 was a bright buff, and he had brown velvety marks 
 on his little crest and on his wings, and an alert, 
 bright manner, not at all shy, although he objected 
 to having people put their hands very near him. He 
 had a loud, but not particularly sweet or fine song. 
 His mistress used to talk to him a good deal, and 
 call him " Pretty," and gradually he began to try to 
 answer and repeat the word. So she used to say, 
 " Sweet, pretty boy," over and over to him, with the 
 intention of his learning it, as she had known of one 
 canary who could say, " Pretty, pretty." He learnt to 
 say this first, as it was easiest for him, being like his 
 own warble, and the word " sweet " was easy also, and 
 like the beginning of his bird-song. " Boy " was more 
 difficult, but after a great many repetitions of " Pretty,
 
 BIRDS. 107 
 
 pretty," a prolonged and timid " boy " would finally 
 be added, and then the little fellow would burst into 
 an ecstasy of song in delight at his own achievement. 
 He was extremely affectionate and companionable, 
 and if we wished to make him show off and say his 
 little phrase, we had only to leave him alone in one 
 room, and go into another where he could hear us 
 talking but could not see us, and he would begin to 
 repeat his praise of himself in his best manner, and 
 go on until he had coaxed us to praise him in our 
 turn, and come back to him. He lived to the good 
 old age of eleven, and is still very dear to the hearts 
 of all our family. I am, Sir, &c.* F. CANARIA. 
 
 November 15, 1890.
 
 io8 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A POLITE PARROT. 
 
 SIR, A week or two ago we took our little six- 
 year-old daughter to the Crystal Palace, and when in 
 the parrot-house she became very anxious to secure 
 the beautiful yellow crest-feather which had fallen from 
 one of the cockatoos in the large cage. While we 
 were vainly fishing for it with hairpins, an old cocka- 
 too walked across the cage towards us, somewhat 
 hurriedly but with a dignified and obliging air, and, 
 to our intense surprise, took the feather up in his beak 
 and presented it to us ! On our accepting it with joy, 
 he also held forth another pretty white feather which 
 lay near. Need I say that he was rewarded to the 
 best of our power with sundry pieces of cake ? I 
 confess I should like to know whether our friend 
 acted on the inspiration of the moment, or whether 
 he is known to pass his life in doing these courtesies. 
 I am, Sir, &c., LOUISA CANZIANI. 
 
 August 26, 1893.
 
 BIRDS. 109 
 
 SPARROWS. 
 THE VANITY OF SPARROWS. 
 
 SIR, Permit me to ask those bird-loving correspon- 
 dents of yours, whose letters I have read with great 
 interest in the Spectator, whether they have ever 
 noticed the pleasure that sparrows apparently have 
 in contemplating themselves ? My daughter writes 
 to me from Bangalore that she is " obliged to cover 
 up " her " looking-glass with a towel, for the sparrows 
 come in, sit on the frame, and tap at themselves, 
 making both glass and dressing-table in a horrid 
 mess. At first the towel kept them away ; but they 
 were always on the watch, and if any one threw back 
 the towel, they would be there in a minute. But 
 now they hold back the towel with one claw, hold 
 themselves on with the other, and peck away at their 
 images." I am, Sir, &c., F. C. 
 
 August 26, 1893.
 
 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 THE VANITY OF SPARROWS. 
 
 SIR, Your correspondent's story of the self-con- 
 ternplating sparrows, in your issue of August 26th, 
 reminds me of a canary I possessed in the days of 
 my youth. Whenever he was let out of his cage he 
 always made for the mirror above the fire-place, and 
 would fly up and down before it, pecking at his image 
 in the glass, and singing as he flew upwards and 
 downwards, with his gaze fixed in the glass. I am 
 inclined to think that in his case it was the desire for 
 companionship, and I think it hard to accuse the 
 sparrows of vanity. I am, Sir, &c., R. S. 
 
 September 9, 1893.
 
 BIRDS. in 
 
 SPARROWS. 
 
 SIR, Your correspondent, " R. S.," in the Spectator 
 of September pth, and the writer in the Daily News 
 who thought my daughter's " self-contemplating 
 sparrows " worthy of notice, may be interested in the 
 sequel of the story, which came to me from Bangalore 
 by the last mail. One morning she came into her 
 room and found that her maid had caught one of the 
 miscreants, and had tied his legs together with soft 
 wool. My daughter says : 
 
 " I demurred to this as cruel (though it did not hurt 
 him, and he was quite quiet), but she implored me to 
 let him stop on the window-sill for an hour or so as a 
 punishment. So we tied a long woollen string to his 
 leg, and let him hop about, hoping to make friends 
 with him ; but as he refused all our overtures, after a 
 short time we let him fly away. He must have gone 
 straight to all his brothers and sisters, for since that 
 day no sparrow has ever appeared in my room, and 
 my looking-glass no longer needs a covering, much 
 to my maid's satisfaction, as before, it was a case of a 
 clean toilet-cover every day." 
 
 Trusting this instance of the means of communica- 
 tion possessed by birds may interest some readers. 
 I am, Sir, &c., F. C 
 
 October 14, 1893.
 
 112 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 SPARROWS. 
 
 SIR, Your correspondent, " F. C.," in the Spectator 
 of August 26th, refers to the singular fancy which 
 sparrows occasionally betray for admiring themselves 
 in a looking-glass. During the past summer I have 
 witnessed this on two or three occasions ; but the 
 most amusing point was that when a hen-sparrow 
 kept sitting on the edge of the looking-glass, intently 
 admiring and pecking mildly at herself, the cock-bird 
 repeatedly flew down also on to the glass and tried to 
 make her desist, not without lingering for a moment 
 or two to have a look at himself. Whether the femi- 
 nine vanity or masculine jealousy was most reprehen- 
 sible in this case may be a fair ground for dispute 
 between the human sexes. I am, Sir, &c., M. 
 
 October 21, 1893.
 
 BIRDS. 113 
 
 A STRANGE SPARROW 
 
 SIR, There is a Jenny Wren's nest on a bough of a 
 cedar-tree in this garden. Noticing a female house - 
 sparrow constantly flying towards the nest, my curi- 
 osity was aroused, and I decided to watch. To my 
 astonishment I found the sparrow was feeding the 
 young ones ; only one wren, so far as I can ascertain, 
 ever visits the nest. Is it possible that the sparrow 
 knows by instinct that one parent is dead, and has 
 therefore taken pity on the ground birds ? I should 
 add that on one occasion when the wren approached 
 the nest it found the sparrow inside, and was ap- 
 parently much distressed, and for some time the 
 sparrow refused to quit. As soon as it did the wren 
 fed its young, and immediately flew away in search of 
 more food. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 J. ALEXANDER SMITH. 
 August 10, 1895. 
 
 9
 
 II 4 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 TOMTITS. 
 TOMTITS. 
 
 SIR, Let me give you the following bit of natural 
 history, called forth by your article in the Spectator 
 of February I2th, on the calculating faculty in animals, 
 as illustrated in Sir J. Lubbock's late lecture. 
 
 A few years ago, in a park near Ware, in Herts, a 
 small box was hung on a tree near the house, with a 
 small hole at one end, for birds to nest in if they 
 would. Soon a pair of tomtits took possession, and 
 after much busy constructiveness, ten little eggs, and 
 in due time ten little chicks made a family party. 
 Whether he was weary of housekeeping, or fell in 
 with a counter-attraction, or was caught budding a 
 greengage-tree, was never ascertained ; but Mr. Tit 
 one day did not return home. Poor Mrs. Tit did her 
 best for some time ; but finding not only her own 
 strength failing, but her little fledglings gradually 
 wasting, she thought it better to save her due share 
 of them than lose all. One morning, five of the 
 young ones were found lying dead under the hole of 
 the box, she having ejected them. This would seem
 
 BIRDS. 115 
 
 to evidence not merely the faculty of numeration, 
 but of passing in the first four rules of arithmetic. 
 Clearly there was division and subtraction ; and the 
 sense that could conclude that the half of ten is five, 
 might also be conscious that twice five is ten. I am, 
 Sir, &c., M. 
 
 February 19, 1887.
 
 n6 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 THE TOMTIT IN LONDON. 
 
 SIR, The tomtits (both larger and smaller) are by 
 no means unfamiliar in London, but take kindly to 
 any fairly quiet garden where they are treated with 
 kindness. For years I have hung up meat-bones for 
 them to feed on during the severe weather, and they 
 have requited the consideration by a constant exhibi- 
 tion of the most entertaining gymnastics all day long. 
 Two half-cocoanuts were also hung up in an old 
 verandah, which runs round one side of the house, 
 last winter, and were constantly visited by titmice, 
 who cleared them out in a short time. Some hanging 
 flower-baskets, lined with dead moss, were suspended 
 in the same verandah, and in the late summer, the 
 tits, after busily boring holes in the moss as if to 
 make nests, have come regularly every night to roost 
 in them. At dusk they may be seen flitting round 
 the baskets, and, finally tucking themselves into the 
 holes, they sleep there with such confidence that no 
 passing footstep or near voice disturbs them. All 
 this goes on, literally, within a stone's-throw of the 
 four-mile radius. Other birds, such as robins,
 
 BIRDS. 117 
 
 thrushes, and blackbirds build, in the summer, in the 
 same garden, where they find a regular meal in the 
 winter, showing that they like dogs and horses 
 know who are kind to them, and whom they may 
 trust. I am, Sir, &c., ELLIOT STOCK. 
 
 November 7, 1891.
 
 n8 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A TOMTIT'S NEST. 
 
 SIR, A pair of tomtits have built and hatched under 
 an inverted flower-pot in my garden. The nest is on 
 the ground, but in a sheltered and very dry position, 
 and the flovrer-pot is n inches in depth with a 
 diameter or base of 1 3 inches. The tomtit builds a 
 closed nest entered by a small opening at the side, 
 and in this case the adaptation of the habit to the 
 situation is curious. On the removal of the covering 
 flower-pot, a circular cushion filling the whole ground- 
 space is shown, nearly 2 inches in thickness ; moss on 
 the ground, wool and hair above, like the wall of the 
 ordinary nest. The nest proper, with about a dozen 
 young birds, is at one side, where the slope of the 
 pot and a sort of protecting wall or pad of wool 
 would act as a covering ; and the old birds have 
 access through the hole in the bottom of the flower- 
 pot. How the young birds are to get out of this nest, 
 with some 10 inches of vertical flight to manage, is 
 not clear. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 F. SIMCOX LEA. 
 May 27, 1893.
 
 BIRDS. 119 
 
 ANOTHER TOMTIT'S NEST. 
 
 SIR, Singular as it is, I doubt whether Mr. Simcox 
 Lea's nest is so remarkable as one I have here. The 
 striking-post of my entrance-gate consists of an iron 
 column tapering upwards, solid for 20 inches from 
 the base, but hollow thence to the top, with a rect- 
 angular opening 6 inches high by I inch wide, 
 beginning at 2 feet 2 inches from the base, and used 
 for the admission of the bolt of the gate. The inside 
 diameter of the hollow space within the column is 
 about 2\ inches, with the result that there exists a 
 kind of cup 6 inches deep below the opening, the 
 bottom of which cup is 8 inches or a little more 
 under the bolt when shot. In this cup, for upwards 
 of twenty years past, a pair of tomtits (how often the 
 same pair is unascertainable) has annually nested, 
 and, except in one instance when a cat destroyed the 
 sitting hen, the majority of the young tits have 
 thriven and flown. The bolt is withdrawn and 
 replaced with considerable noise at least thirty to 
 forty times daily, but the parent birds wholly dis- 
 regard both the motion and the noise. This year 
 and now, we have, so far as they can be counted,
 
 120 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 seven young tits hatched out and likely to fly within 
 a week ; but how these young birds or their pre- 
 decessors contrive to reach the opening of escape, I 
 have never been able to discover. Eight years ago 
 the annual addition of wool and hair made to the 
 nest, and the accumulation of bones and debris of 
 young birds which had died or failed to escape, had 
 filled the hollow cup to such a point, that there was 
 risk of the bolt injuring the sitting hen, and I there- 
 fore cleaned it out ; whereupon, the following year, a 
 pair of tits recommenced from the bottom, and the 
 process of filling it up has again arrived so far that I 
 have this morning been able to insert my finger into 
 the mouths of the fledglings, and must therefore, 
 when they are gone, again clear out the cup. I am, 
 Sir, &c., J. H. JAMES. 
 
 June 3, 1893.
 
 BIRDS. 121 
 
 TOMTIT ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 SIR, Your correspondent's tomtit nesting letter, in 
 the Spectator of May 27th, was most interesting. 
 But the problem in gymnastics to be solved by the 
 young tits is only apparently a difficult one, inasmuch 
 as it has been solved by the parent birds. Your 
 correspondent's conception of the difficulty is the 
 result of his evident forgetfulness of the fact that 
 young birds are not so stupid or so incomplete as 
 young babies. The titmice will get out of the hole 
 of the inverted flower-pot in exactly the same way as 
 their parents do. But in our rectory garden just 
 now we have a still more curious problem in tit 
 architecture. A pair of great-tits have built their 
 nests in the iron chimney of a disused greenhouse- 
 stove. The pipe is perpendicular, of 3 inches diameter, 
 and is about 12 feet long. The nest is constructed 
 about 6 feet down. There are eight young birds, 
 nearly ready to (?) fly, climb, be carried, washed 
 down how get out ? What will your correspondent 
 suggest ? 
 
 By the way, why will people speak of torn-tits ? 
 There are great-tits, blue-tits, cole-tits, longtailed-tits, 
 marsh-tits, crested-tits ! But what is a tomtit ? I 
 am, Sir, &c, MAURICE STUBBS. 
 
 June 3, 1893.
 
 122 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 THE REASONING FACULTY IN 
 BIRDS. 
 
 BIRD INTELLIGENCE. 
 
 SIR, In the spring of 1877 my gardener was re- 
 quested to try to rear a pair of young blackbirds. 
 He fixed on one nest, in some ivy, about thirty yards 
 away from the house. On a certain Sunday morning 
 he saw that the birds were hatched ; on the next 
 Sunday he peeped into the nest, and saw the little 
 ones were going on well. On the following Sunday 
 morning he peeped again, and lo ! the nest was 
 empty. He was very much surprised, and as he 
 stood by the tree, wondering what had become of the 
 birds, he was attracted to a pair of parent birds in a 
 neighbouring tree. They had food in their mouth, 
 and made a curious noise, as they flew restlessly 
 from one tree to another. Thinking they might be 
 the parents of his lost proteges, he decided to watch 
 their movements. They flew away and back again, 
 returning each time to rest nearer the house, until 
 one of them flew rapidly across the drive, under the
 
 BIRDS. 123 
 
 verandah, and back again, as in a moment. The 
 other followed immediately in the same way, and 
 then they both flew off. Seeing this, the man placed 
 himself in half-hiding, determined to await their 
 return. In due time they came back, flew fearlessly 
 to their young, and less hurriedly went away again. 
 Thus their young were -discovered in a hollow over a 
 projection under the verandah-roof. There cannot 
 be a doubt that these were the young birds removed 
 from the nest in the tree to this very safe and very 
 unlikely place of retreat. 
 
 Assuming this, and considering the whole incident 
 from the point of view of human intelligence, there 
 is a series of complicate mental acts, which seems to 
 indicate a very large measure of mind in these two 
 birds. There must have been suspicion, passing into 
 conviction, of the intention of the gardener ; deter- 
 mination to prevent the robbery contemplated ; agree- 
 ment as to the manner in which this could be accom- 
 plished ; the looking for and choosing the most likely 
 place for their new home, then choosing the time and 
 arranging the manner of the removal ; and finally, 
 the mechanical act of carrying their three young ones, 
 already a fortnight old, from the nest, a distance of 
 full thirty yards, to their new home. 
 
 Is it not justifiable, and in fact necessary, to accept 
 this analysis as true to the case before us ? There 
 could have been no antecedent experience to dictate 
 the course pursued. " The logic of feeling " rises in 
 such a case to the logic of intellect, and though the 
 processes I have described may have had different
 
 124 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 conditions in the limited brain of these feathered 
 intelligences, I cannot help thinking that the pro- 
 cesses must have been so similar, as to class this 
 instance of animal intelligence with the same opera- 
 tions as conducted in the higher order of mind. 
 
 I may just add, the young ones were never taken. 
 They had a capital run of some yards, and whenever 
 we tried to take them they always ran away, until 
 they flew off their own masters. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 J. S. 
 
 October 26, 1878.
 
 BIRDS. 125 
 
 THE REASON OF BIRDS. 
 
 SIR, In your issue of the 2/th ult. you quote a 
 story told in some of the papers of hawks having 
 been noticed, in parts of England and France, to 
 fly after railway-trains in order to pounce on the 
 small birds put up by the trains. You draw certain 
 deductions, " if that story is true," and say that " it 
 needs precise verification." I have myself observed 
 a similar thing happen in India. The East India 
 Railway between the Toondla Junction and Agra 
 runs at one place over a high embankment, the out- 
 side slopes of which are planted with the " babool " 
 tree. The tops of these, three years ago, were about 
 on a level with the windows of the carriages, and 
 shook and waved as the train rushed by. 
 
 Travelling one day in the same carriage with one 
 of the railway staff, who had occasion to pass over 
 the line very often, he told me, on approaching the 
 spot, to look out for " the hawks chasing the birds." 
 As the tree-tops shook and swayed, the small birds 
 flew out of them, and the hawks which, whether 
 waiting or not, were close by, flew after them. It 
 is, of course, possible that the neighbourhood may
 
 126 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 have been one favoured of hawks, who, seeing the 
 birds in troubled flight, went after them. But there 
 was no reason to suppose this, the gentleman 
 attached to the railway had observed it as a new 
 thing, and he had no doubt that the hawks came 
 and waited because they knew the tree-tops would 
 shake and the birds rush out. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 R. E. FORREST, P.W.D., India. 
 October 4, 1 879.
 
 BIRDS. 127 
 
 THE REASON OF BIRDS. 
 
 SlR, May I tell you a few facts, to prove that birds 
 can be, like their human friends, both reasonable and 
 unreasonable? I. Several years ago a pair of my 
 canaries built ; while the hen was sitting, the weather 
 became intensely hot. She drooped, and I began to 
 fear that she would not be strong enough to hatch the 
 eggs. I watched the birds closely, and soon found 
 that the cock was a devoted nurse. He bathed in 
 the fresh cold water I supplied every morning, then 
 went to the edge of the nest, and the hen buried her 
 head in his breast and was refreshed. Without hands 
 and without a sponge, what more could he have done ? 
 2. The following spring the same bird was hanging in 
 a window with three other canaries, each in a separate 
 cage. I was sitting in the room, and heard my little 
 favourite give a peculiar cry. I looked up, and saw 
 all the birds crouching on their perches, paralysed 
 with fright. On going to the window to ascertain the 
 cause of their terror, I saw a large balloon passing 
 over the end of the street. The birds '*did not move 
 till it was out of sight, when they all gave a chirp of 
 relief. The balloon was only within sight of the bird
 
 128 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 who gave the alarm, and I have no doubt he mistook 
 it for a bird of prey. 3. I have a green and a yellow 
 canary hanging side by side. They are treated exactly 
 alike, and are warm friends. One has often refused 
 to partake of some delicacy till the other was supplied 
 with it. One day I had five blossoms of dandelion ; 
 I gave three to the green bird, two to the yellow one. 
 The latter flew about his cage, singing in a shrill voice 
 and showed unmistakable signs of anger. Guessing 
 the cause, I took away one of the three flowers, when 
 both birds settled down quietly to enjoy their feast. 
 I am, Sir, &c., K. H. 
 
 October 18, 1879
 
 BIRDS. 129 
 
 BIRDS, AND THEIR SUPPOSED POWER 
 OF COUNTING. 
 
 SIR, I read with much interest the article in the 
 Spectator of February I2th, on Sir John Lubbock's 
 lecture, and especially the question raised concerning 
 the arithmetical power of animals. As far as birds 
 are concerned, I have always believed that the dis- 
 covery that eggs have been taken from the nest is not 
 due to any power of counting, but to the much simpler 
 sensation of feeling. My ground for this belief is an 
 experiment I have frequently made upon the common 
 plover. This bird, as is well known, always places its 
 four eggs point to point. The object of this is to 
 enable the mother-bird, which is small in proportion 
 to the size of the eggs, to cover them more completely 
 when sitting. Now, I have found that when I have 
 removed two of the eggs, whether opposite or next to 
 each other, the bird has generally deserted. In the 
 few cases where this has not been the case, the two 
 remaining eggs have been placed by the mother so 
 that the narrow ends overlap considerably. Taking 
 this hint, I have tried the experiment of altering the 
 two remaining eggs to this position myself, and have 
 
 10
 
 130 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 found that, almost invariably, the nest is not deserted. 
 This makes me think that the immediate cause of 
 desertion is the discomfort arising from the altered 
 shape of the eggs taken together, not any distinct 
 appreciation of number as such ; or perhaps it would 
 be more correct to say, the sense of danger which this 
 feeling of discomfort produces. It is a well-known 
 fact that many birds will desert if a nest is the least 
 disturbed, even without any eggs being taken. Birds 
 have little or no power of distinguishing either the 
 colour or shape of the single eggs, as birds will con- 
 tinue to sit on the eggs of other birds, and even stones, 
 after their own have been taken away. The feeding 
 of a young bird in a cage by its mother surely is best 
 explained by supposing that the mother hears and 
 recognises the cry of its young one. It is hardly 
 necessary to suppose that the mother is the least aware 
 of its absence from the nest until she hears it crying 
 for food. This power of crying is developed long before 
 the bird is well enough fledged to leave the nest. I 
 am, Sir, &c., F. H. WOODS. 
 
 February 19, 1887.
 
 BIRDS. 131 
 
 FIDELITY IN BIRDS. 
 
 SIR, I think the many bird-lovers who frequent your 
 columns will like to share the following experience 
 with me. I walked over this morning to call on a 
 friend whose wife is a skilful ornithologist, and has the 
 brightest and healthiest aviaries known to me. I was 
 particularly struck with one of them, that for foreign 
 finches, in which some fifty birds from all quarters of 
 the globe were flitting about, and prattling to one 
 another on the swinging perches. They were of all 
 colours, generally very brilliant, and almost all unknown 
 to me. Amongst those that attracted me most was a 
 gentle little hen, almost white, a "zebra finch," the 
 mistress told me, which she had got through an 
 advertisement in Exchange and Mart from a perfect 
 stranger. Rather more than a week after the arrival 
 of the " zebra finch," she had another letter from her 
 correspondent, saying that a "Bengalese," who had 
 shared the cage of the " zebra finch," had shown such 
 evident signs of distress ever since their separation 
 that if she would put 2s. 6d. into the poo?-box, and 
 accept the disconsolate bird, he should be sent off at 
 once. She gladly complied with the condition, and
 
 132 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 in due course the " Bengalese " arrived, and was turned 
 into the finch aviary. Here, amongst the fifty strangers, 
 he at once singled out his lost love, who was sitting 
 meekly on a perch in a distant corner, and flew straight 
 up to her side. She seemed equally delighted, and 
 they rubbed bills and shoulders, and in the intervals 
 of such birdlike caressings prattled away to each other 
 as though recounting their respective adventures since 
 that sad parting ten days before. To-day there was 
 not a brighter bird in the aviary than that " Bengalese," 
 or one more unlike his faithful mate in plumage or 
 form. I am, Sir, &c., THOMAS HUGHES. 
 
 P.S. The cuckoo was heard here for the first time 
 this morning ; a cheery greeting for the holiday-folk 
 
 April 27, 1889.
 
 BIRDS. 133 
 
 THE AFFECTION OF BIRDS. 
 
 SIR, Dr. Kay, commenting on Psalm civ. 17, tells a 
 story about the stork similar to that published in the 
 Spectator of July 5th. He says that the name Chasidah 
 is equivalent to pia avt's, and suggests that " stork " 
 may be cognate with oropyj;. 
 
 The parental affection of the eagle was sufficiently 
 known among the Israelites to serve as an illustration 
 of the protecting guidance of God. " As an eagle 
 stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, 
 spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth 
 them on her wings : so the Lord alone did lead him." 
 In the New Testament our Lord illustrated the 
 divine solicitude in a similar way : " How often 
 would I have gathered thy children together, even 
 as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings." 
 
 The power which has been given to birds of return- 
 ing love other than parental, may be illustrated from 
 numerous sources. St. Francis wooed and won their 
 love : " The redbreasts picked up crumbs on his table, 
 the pheasant nestled at his side, the falcon woke him 
 to prayer, and the swallow hovered round his bedside 
 and sang him to sleep when his last hour came." St
 
 134 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 Hugh, at the Great Chartreuse, "tamed the little birds 
 ... to such an extent that they would leave their 
 woods, and regularly at the hour of supper would come 
 to share his meal with him, not only getting on his 
 table, but eating out of his hand and his plate, and 
 making themselves completely his companions." At 
 Witham, "a certain little bird which is called ' Burneta ' 
 came every day to his table, as though it had discovered 
 the innate kindness of the man, and took its food from 
 his hand and his plate." In Lincolnshire he was faith- 
 fully loved, equally when present and when absent, by 
 his beautiful swan. In " England under the Angevin 
 Kings," I., 77-79, an account is given of St. Godric, 
 who said : " He who denies himself the converse of 
 men wins the converse of birds and beasts, and the 
 company of angels." St. Cuthbert won such love from 
 the eider-ducks that they nestled in his lap, and he 
 loved them so that eider-ducks were embroidered on 
 his dalmatic. St. Guthlac, too, " was in league with 
 the fowls of the air ; the wild birds . . . would eat 
 from his hand ; swallows came to sit on his arms and 
 his bosom ; " and he said : " He who is joined to God 
 with a pure spirit finds all things uniting themselves 
 to him in God." I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 ROBERT G. FOOKES. 
 July 19, 1890.
 
 BIRDS. 135 
 
 MEMORY OF BIRDS. 
 
 SIR, Last year I fed the tomtits with a cocoanut 
 suspended on a stick outside my window, and they 
 came greedily. This year I forgot all about it, but 
 hearing a clamour in a fuchsia-bush outside my study- 
 window during the snow of last week, I found myself 
 besieged by an army of tomtits, who had taken this 
 effectual means of reminding me of my want of care. 
 Was it memory, or association of ideas, or both ? I 
 am, Sir, &c., F. G. MONTAGU POWELL. 
 
 December 6, 1 890.
 
 136 CAT AXD BIRD STORIES. 
 
 MEMORY OF BIRDS. 
 
 SIR, Your readers may be interested by the following 
 incident displaying the wonderful power of memory 
 which some birds possess. Some time ago we had a 
 cock of the black, single-comb Spanish breed. The 
 farm-boy, who lived about five hundred yards from 
 the farm, was in the habit of encouraging this cock to 
 spur at him, so that every morning, as he went to his 
 work, a pugilistic encounter took place between boy 
 and cock. After a time the boy left us and went to 
 London. Returning at the end of six months, he paid 
 a visit to his fellow-labourers at the farm. He was 
 immediately recognised by the cock, and on coming 
 out of his cottage the next morning he found the bird 
 waitingoutsidefor him ready again to face his opponent. 
 This continued for several days, until one afternoon 
 the boy came to the farm to wish his companions good- 
 bye, as he was returning to London ; and the next 
 morning the cock omitted to pay his usual visit. We 
 thus have an instance of the memory of a bird stretch- 
 ing over the space of six months. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 FLORENCE BARFORD. 
 December 13, 1890.
 
 BIRDS. 137 
 
 BIRDS AND LANGUAGE. 
 BIRD LANGUAGE. 
 
 SIR, I have read with much interest the article on 
 " The Language of Animals " which appeared in your 
 issue of April 7th. From it I gather that although 
 no one can understand the talk of beasts and birds 
 so as to be able to converse with them and establish 
 a communication of thought, yet it is possible from 
 frequent observations of the behaviour of animals 
 when emitting certain sounds, to arrive approxi- 
 mately at the meaning of such sounds. Now, I have 
 some knowledge of the behaviour of small caged 
 birds, especially of bullfinches, and after reading your 
 article I feel somewhat puzzled to account for the 
 uniform behaviour of various bullfinches under certain 
 circumstances which I wish here to detail. Bull- 
 finches frequently emit a peculiar grating, hissing 
 noise, accompanied by flapping of the wings and 
 ruffling up of the feathers, all of which signs would 
 certainly betoken anger, and I have every reason to 
 believe do betoken anger, \vhen used against other
 
 138 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 birds, because under such circumstances, provided 
 they can reach each other, a severe battle ensues. I 
 have called this noise swearing. Now, there is no 
 question of the tondness of my bullfinches for me, for 
 I have possessed some that I could set free in the 
 garden and call back to my hand at will ; and yet I 
 find that they frequently make this same noise at me, 
 accompanying it by the same actions of menace. I 
 cannot think that the noise then expresses dislike of 
 me, for it is to me that any luxuries or joys of their 
 present caged condition are due. Can it be possible 
 that they use the same noise to me to betoken an 
 entirely different sentiment from that which they feel 
 when they utter it against their own kind ? Thinking 
 this may interest those of your readers who have 
 given any thought to the subject of the " language of 
 animals," I am writing this to you, Mr. Editor, trusting 
 at the same time that some one who has had ex- 
 perience in such matters may be able to offer a 
 satisfactory explanation. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 C. S. COBB. 
 i, 1888.
 
 BIRDS. 139 
 
 THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 
 
 SIR, Mock anger seems to be rather common among 
 birds. There is in them, when caged, some sup- 
 pressed excitement, or fury, especially in the spring. 
 Every one who knows a parrot, knows that a perfectly 
 reciprocal fondness is no protection against his bite. 
 The one I know bites his best friend deeply, and 
 roars with laughter. The little birds use a kind of 
 flirtation of defiance with the overwhelming power of 
 those they know intimately. A skilled bird-tamer, I 
 believe, puts his hand into the cage, and when the 
 bird moves, withdraws it hurriedly, as if in fear. This 
 invites the bird to a contempt which becomes the 
 foundation for familiarity ; and the device is founded, 
 I suppose, on that adventurous and provocative spirit 
 in the bird which prompted the bullfinches to scold 
 and bully the master whose favours they value. Does 
 a puppy bark and snap in play in something like the 
 same temper? 
 
 I might mention a goldfinch I know, which, I think, 
 never fails to distinguish its partial mistress from all 
 others by an outburst of swearing and ruffling. I 
 am, Sir, &c., P. N. WAGGETT. 
 
 April 28, 1888.
 
 140 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 
 
 SIR, I have no hesitation in saying that when bull- 
 finches gape, hiss, and flutter their wings to those they 
 like, as mentioned by Mr. Cobb, they do so as ex- 
 pressive of affection or thanks, and not at all as 
 "swearing." I have often been amused at this 
 characteristic from a long acquaintance with them. 
 As I approach them with a tit-bit, they thus salute 
 me, and take it from my hand with kisses. It is true 
 they go through the same performance when enraged, 
 except the kissing ; but there is nothing at all un- 
 usual in all this, if we remember that the play of 
 most animals is a close imitation of their challenge 
 and combat. In spite of its apparent identity, I can 
 hear the temper of the bullfinch in its voice, just as 
 easily as I can tell whether my dog be vexed or 
 pleased by his bark; yet these differences are not 
 distinguishable by a strange ear. These differences 
 in tone are well understood by the respective species 
 and we learn to understand them from familiarity 
 with individuals. If it be true that a musician can 
 strike a given note on a piano with a score of diffe-
 
 BIRDS. 141 
 
 rent expressions, surely a bird's eloquence is not less 
 limited. 
 
 If play be generally mimic war, may not all kissing 
 (including that of animals) be the " survival " of 
 biting? I am, Sir, &c., E. W. PHIBBS. 
 
 April 28, 1888.
 
 142 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 COURTESY AND DISCOURTESY 
 IN BIRDS. 
 
 COCKS AND HENS. 
 
 SIR We are all familiar with the delightful gallantry 
 with which a barn-door cock will, on finding food, 
 call his hens, and point out the food, and bow and 
 scrape while they eat it. I witnessed, however, the 
 other day, an act of such perfect courtesy on the 
 part of two little birds, that I think you will be glad 
 to record it. We have a large cage in which are a 
 number of various birds, among them a cock gold- 
 finch and two little mannikins. These latter little 
 sober-coloured birds we considered very uninterest- 
 ing. Wishing, however, to provide a mate for the 
 goldfinch, I one evening bought a hen canary, and 
 the next morning turned it into the cage with the 
 others. None of the other birds took the least notice 
 of the new arrival, but the two little mannikins placed 
 themselves side by side by the seed-vessel, and, the 
 canary being on a perch above, they fed her in turn 
 with seed, lifting up their little black heads, one after 
 the other, and letting her take the seed out of their
 
 BIRDS. 143 
 
 stumpy white beaks. This appeared to be pure 
 courtesy to the lady stranger. We have seen no 
 repetition of the act ; but, one of the mannikins 
 having got wet one day, we watched the canary 
 returning the courtesy by trying to dry its feathers 
 by passing them through her beak. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 WM. WALSHAM BEDFORD, 
 Bishop Suffragan for East London. 
 
 April 19, 1884.
 
 144 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 REFINEMENT IN BIRDS. 
 
 SIR, What my friend the Bishop of Bedford calls 
 "the delightful gallantry" of the barn-door cock 
 towards his hens is too familiar to warrant particular 
 attention. If I were to tell of the care with which 
 on one occasion I saw the " paterfamilia " of my own 
 poultry-yard break the shells of a basketful of snails 
 and present the unctuous morsels one by one to his 
 wives, with the utmost courtesy, I should be only 
 mentioning what the observation of others could 
 easily parallel. 
 
 The following instance of the same refined attention 
 is, however, I think, sufficiently unusual to deserve 
 record. When I was a boy there were two farmyards 
 attached to my father's house one near, the other 
 more distant. The fowls had not thriven very well 
 in the near farmyard, and it was thought better to 
 remove them to the other. This was done at night, 
 after the cock and his seraglio had gone to roost. 
 The next day we boys, anxious to know how the 
 fowls were getting on in their new quarters, accom- 
 panied our father to the place to which they had 
 been removed. The hens were busily scratching on
 
 BIRDS. 145 
 
 the dunghill, as happy as ever, but the cock was 
 nowhere to be seen. On asking the farming-man 
 where he was, he opened the hen-house door with a 
 queer grin, and there we saw our old friend busily 
 employed in making nests for his hens to lay in. 
 Though more than half a century has passed, I can 
 see him now in the dusky background of the shed, 
 actively arranging the straw with his feet, and re- 
 monstrating against our intrusion on his pious work 
 by a surprised and querulous chuckle. I hope his 
 numerous wives were properly grateful for this self- 
 sacrificing labour. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 EDMUND VENABLES. 
 April 26, 1884. 
 
 ii
 
 146 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 COURTESY IN BIRDS. THE DUCK. 
 
 SIR, The two illustrations of courtesy in birds given 
 by your correspondent in the Spectator of April iQth 
 are attractive and interesting. Every observer of the 
 habits of our domestic fowls must be familiar with 
 the gallantry of the barn-door cock, who, when he 
 discovers a dainty morsel, summons his harem to the 
 banquet, and stands aloof while the ladies eat, not 
 tasting himself. It is well that there should be a 
 redeeming feature in the character of that fire-eating, 
 pompous, and tyrannical creature. I think he 
 possesses no other respectable trait, except perhaps 
 his undoubted courage, which continues until he has 
 been once well thrashed, when as a rule he becomes 
 a wretched craven. I regret to say that I have 
 known more than one barn-door cock, who, without 
 having discovered any food at all, would pretend to 
 have done so, and when some hen, responding to his 
 call, had come within his reach, would conduct him- 
 self in a very ungentlemanly way towards her. 
 
 Now the duck is considered a particularly uninte- 
 resting and prosaic animal. Yet I venture to affirm 
 that, in point of intelligence, social kindness, and
 
 BIRDS. 147 
 
 sagacity, he is vastly superior to the barn-door or any 
 other cock or hen. I have kept and closely watched 
 hundreds of ducks ; I never saw them fight with each 
 other, nor ever knew a duck the aggressor in a dis- 
 pute with some other kind of fowl. But I have 
 witnessed striking instances of charity and kindness 
 in ducks. Let one such case suffice. Amongst some 
 fifty or sixty head of ducks and fowls, I once had a 
 solitary little old bantam hen. She became blind, 
 or nearly so, and like other birds in that condition, 
 " sulked " as it is called, *>., kept by herself in a dark, 
 retired corner of the fowl-house, knowing instinctively 
 that her cruel and cowardly brethren and sisters 
 would persecute her to death if she appeared 
 amongst them. Here she might, perhaps, have 
 starved, but for the constant and sympathetic atten- 
 tions of a duck. Twice daily, every day so long as 
 the poor bantam lived, some three weeks, this good 
 Samaritan in the form of a duck was observed to fill 
 her capacious beak with from twenty to thirty grains 
 of barley, with which she proceeded to the fowl-house, 
 and there deposited her store immediately in front of 
 the bantam. Several members of my family, as well 
 as myself, were frequent witnesses of this beautiful 
 incident. 
 
 One more anecdote in evidence of the sagacity of 
 the duck. I had five Aylesbury ducks, with a number 
 of fowls. The lord of the yard, a most despotic 
 chanticleer, would never suffer the ducks to feed with 
 his family and friends when, at the regular meal- 
 times, the grain was scattered for their common use.
 
 148 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 Ferociously and without pity he drove them from 
 the ground. This had been going on for many 
 weeks, and one day at the 1 2 o'clock repast, the act 
 of expulsion was performed as usual. I was present, 
 and saw the discomfited ducks retire to a corner of 
 the yard. There they evidently held a conference. 
 Having been so engaged some five minutes, they 
 proceeded with deliberate and resolute air, in single 
 file, as is their wont, towards their oppressor. Having 
 reached the tyrant, they surrounded him, each duck 
 turning his posteriors towards the enemy, and with 
 concerted action fairly hustled him clean out of the 
 yard. To see the surprise of the cock as he jumped 
 from side to side to avoid the pressure of the attacking 
 party, was ludicrous in the extreme. The victory was 
 complete ; from that hour the ducks were never again 
 molested. 
 
 I suspect the general notion of the stupidity of the 
 duck arises from his awkward waddling motion as he 
 progresses over the ground. He is not in his natural 
 element on the dry earth. He navigates the water 
 with rapidity, dignity, and grace. In his wild state 
 he is a perfect artist in aerial locomotion. Observe 
 the fine, acute angle described by a flock of wild 
 ducks in their rapid flight ; with what perfect regu- 
 larity they break-up and re-form when they change 
 the direction of their route ! And if " quack, quack ! " 
 is not a musical sound, the weird whir of a company 
 of ducks piercing through space certainly is. Finally, 
 it is urged against the duck that he eats filth. How 
 little reason is there in this reproach ! Dirt is defined
 
 BIRDS. 149 
 
 to be matter in the wrong place, but the refuse which 
 the duck enjoys, and which he transforms into the 
 most delicious food that issues from the poultry-yard, 
 is anything rather than matter in the wrong place, 
 and is not therefore, in the case of the duck, dirt. 
 I am, Sir, &c., SIDNEY M. HAWKES. 
 
 May 10, 1884.
 
 150 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 DISCOURTESY IN BIRDS. 
 
 SIR, A day or two ago I saw the reverse of the 
 picture as I was walking in Kensington Gardens. A 
 duck had not long hatched out a brood of eleven 
 ducklings, which were swimming on the Long Water. 
 One of the bystanders threw some crumbs of bread 
 to the young ones, upon which the duck savagely 
 attacked one or two of the unoffending ducklings, 
 seized them in her bill, and ducked them for several 
 seconds under the water, or rather held them under 
 the water till she was obliged to come up to the sur- 
 face to breathe, otherwise she must inevitably have 
 drowned them. I can only conclude that she must 
 have been hungry to have ill-treated them in so 
 unnatural a way. I am, Sir, &c., C. R. T. 
 
 P.S. This " duck " reminds me of (and must 
 surely be some distant connection of) the bird I saw 
 down in a " bill of fare " at a restaurant in Paris, 
 with this English translation annexed viz., " Canard 
 sauvage [trans.], savage duck " ! 
 
 May 17, 1884.
 
 BIRDS. 151 
 
 ESTHETIC BIRDS. 
 VAIN SPARROWS. 
 
 SIR, In connection with the article in the Spectator 
 of May 2nd, giving examples of the love of beauty 
 by animals, your readers may be interested in the 
 following case of vanity shall we call it ? lately 
 told us by a missionary friend of ours. She, with her 
 husband, was stationed at Negapatam, where the 
 ubiquitous sparrow would appear to be more ubi- 
 quitous than usual. Anyhow, Mrs. L was much 
 
 bothered by the birds coming in to look at them- 
 selves in the looking-glass in her dressing-room, till 
 at last she covered the glass with a towel. But the 
 birds were not to be beaten. One day, on entering 
 the room, she caught them at it again, one of the 
 pair holding back a corner of the towel, while the 
 other and, alas for the credit of our sex ! I have to 
 confess that it was the cock-bird was viewing his 
 beauties in the glass. I am, Sir, &c. 
 
 PHILIP THOMPSON. 
 July 4, 1891.
 
 152 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 ANIMAL .ESTHETICS. 
 
 SIR, The writer of the admirable article on "Animal 
 .Esthetics," which was published in your columns on 
 May 2nd last, will, I am sure, be interested to learn 
 that a pair of goldfinches in my garden have acted 
 in a manner precisely similar to that practised by the 
 birds of which he wrote. They have built high up in 
 an ilex-tree, and have put the finishing touches to 
 their work by ornamenting the nest with sprigs of 
 the blue forget-me-not. Let us hope that in this case 
 the aesthetic taste of the birds will not, as in the 
 instance quoted in the article referred to, lead to the 
 ruin of their nest. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 T. M. WARD (Colonel). 
 July 11, 1891.
 
 BIRDS. 153 
 
 A MUSICAL WOOD-PIGEON. 
 
 SIR, You may like to add the following to Dr. 
 Littledale's story of the musical cat. One day, dur- 
 ing the severest part of last winter, a poor starved 
 wood-pigeon was driven to find shelter in Sir Arthur 
 Hazlerigg's house at Noseley. It was fed and cared 
 for, and was so well pleased with its new quarters 
 that it seems wholly to have forgotten its wild nature. 
 It now lives contentedly in a large cage in one of the 
 rooms, with two doves for its companions, flies about 
 the room when let out, and allows itself to be caught 
 and fondled. But the most curious feature of its 
 domesticated life is that when Miss Hazlerigg goes 
 to the piano, the bird will perch on her head or 
 shoulders, and hop about the piano ; but if any other 
 person plays, it will take no notice. Where did it 
 get that discriminating power ? I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 CHARLES H. NEWMARCH. 
 September 17, 1881.
 
 154 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 MISCELLANEO US. 
 MEN AND BIRDS AN AUTHENTIC TALE. 
 
 SIR, Some little time ago I read with pleasure in 
 the columns of the Times a letter from the pen of 
 Mr. Morris, affording interesting information on the 
 affection and social habits of birds such as the king- 
 fisher, the golden-crested wren, and the wood-pigeon. 
 I, too, have a tale to tell of the sparrow, which, per- 
 haps, you will favour me by inserting in your valuable 
 paper, as an additional evidence of the instinct and 
 attachment of birds. My sparrow's love continued 
 unbroken for years, and this is the unvarnished his- 
 tory of the little affectionate creature. 
 
 The rectory of Christ Church, in the island of 
 Barbabos, West Indies, where I resided, is prettily 
 situated amidst trees on a hill overlooking a fishing 
 village, where the waters of the sea, on a clear summer 
 day, are of all colours of green, and where the tropical 
 heat is softened down by a constant land breeze. 
 This is just the abode suited to birds, and conse- 
 quently the neighbourhood abounds in sparrows. 
 Being alone at the time, many of the sparrows soon
 
 BIRDS. 155 
 
 struck up an acquaintance with me, and were among 
 the first to make their appearance in the most un- 
 ceremonious manner at the breakfast-table. One of 
 them, however, more familiar than the rest, seemed 
 determined that I should adopt it as a pet. By 
 degrees I induced it to pick bread-crumbs out of my 
 hand. Our acquaintance gradually matured into un- 
 suspecting friendship, and ended at last in positive 
 love, as the sequel will show. 
 
 Lengthened time rolled on, and every day the 
 sparrow was my constant companion. If I was in my 
 study, it was there. If I was reading in the drawing- 
 room, it was perched on the tip of my boot. If I did 
 not rise by daylight, it would come in at the window, 
 left open purposely for its convenience, and flutter 
 upon my body, begging, as it were, that I would 
 attend to its early wants. And more than this. I 
 missed the bird for a while, and grieved, thinking that 
 it had fallen a prey to some voracious cat or to the 
 gunshot of some wayfaring traveller. Every day I 
 went to the accustomed window and called it by 
 name (for I had given it the name of " Dick "), but 
 no Dick appeared. I persevered, however, in loudly 
 calling for it, as it knew my voice well ; and after an 
 absence of some weeks, I one morning observed three 
 sparrows flying directly towards me. I held out my 
 hand as usual, and they alighted on the palm of it 
 To my agreeable surprise, there was Mr. or Mrs. Dick 
 (I know not which), with two well-fledged olive- 
 branches, which were handed over to me for adoption. 
 This is not all. Mrs. Dick for from her affection I
 
 156 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 shall assume it was the mother-bird resolved to 
 build her nest another time nearer home, and re- 
 peatedly came to me with a straw in her beak, 
 evidently hoping that I would be her assistant-archi- 
 tect Finding that I declined the task, she selected a 
 rose-tree, which I could easily touch from my bed- 
 room window, and there entwining three of the tallest 
 branches, she built (as birds only can build) a beau- 
 tiful nest. From this time she continued to commit 
 her fledglings, as a matter of course, to my care. 
 
 But here comes the climax. The time drew near 
 for me to leave the West and to join my family in 
 England, where I am now. It seemed as if my 
 sparrow, by instinct, amounting almost to reason, 
 suspected my movements. Perhaps there was some- 
 thing lonely and strange in the appearance of the 
 rectory, the greater portion of the furniture having 
 been removed ; but be it what it may, Mrs. Dick, 
 although she lived unfettered in the trees, and had 
 the range of the atmosphere, would scarce quit my 
 presence, and, mirabile dictu, on returning home one 
 moonlight night, I found the loving bird sleeping 
 like a peaceful infant on my pillow. I could scarce 
 believe my own eyes, but so it was. On approaching 
 to see if it was really a sparrow, it flew upon the top 
 of the wardrobe, and there it remained all the night 
 
 The character of Mrs. Dick was well known, and 
 numerous visitors (among whom I may mention the 
 name of Bishop Mitchinson) often witnessed the 
 influence I had over the sparrow tribe, especially over 
 the one that appeared to sorrow most of all at my
 
 BIRDS. 157 
 
 departure. I won them by gentleness and kindness, 
 and my reward was ample. 
 
 What a moral for man ! What an example for the 
 cultivation of domestic love and affection do we find 
 in these tiny creatures of the feathered race, not one 
 of which falls to the ground without the knowledge 
 of our Heavenly Father ! It is time, however, to 
 draw my narrative to a close, and wondering if my 
 petted sparrow is yet alive, I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 F. B. GRANT. 
 
 January I, 1876.
 
 ic8 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A BARN-YARD INCIDENT. 
 
 SIR, In our earliest brood of chickens last spring 
 was one which grew up to be a bird of singular 
 beauty. He was pure white, and from his stately 
 dignity and general consciousness of his position, the 
 children gave him the name of "Jupiter." He was 
 recognised as an established authority by the sove- 
 reign power, and no one disputed his claims ; least of 
 all a bird his junior by a few weeks, which grew up 
 with him, a parti-coloured fowl, of no recognised 
 position in the community of poultry, living in a sort 
 of contempt, or at best of toleration not even allowed 
 a name by the children, but described by them when 
 necessary in negatives, whom, then, I must call 
 " Outis." 
 
 " Jupiter," as the year and his powers advanced, 
 began to treat "Outis" with the greatest indignity 
 and contumely, which " Outis " bore with a quiet 
 patience that perplexed me, as I began to notice his 
 growing strength. But he dwelt apart, and never 
 crowed ; " Jupiter " being particularly fond of crow- 
 ing, and usually mounting a hurdle close to the drive 
 for the purpose of exhibiting with greater effect.
 
 BIRDS. 159 
 
 At length, in the autumn, matters came to a crisis. 
 There is a thick, dark fir-tree in the field assigned to 
 the poultry, which, generations before any of the 
 existing community were hatched, had been adopted 
 as an universal roosting-place. One evening, after 
 an increasing series of general snubbings and insults, 
 " Jupiter " thought proper to dispute the entrance of 
 the nameless bird into the tree. Half an hour later, 
 exhausted, covered with mud, and utterly forlorn, he , 
 was found lying on the ground beneath the tree, with 
 " Outis " in undisputed possession above. The defeat 
 had been sudden, and it was complete. " Jupiter " 
 has at last recovered the beauty of his plumage, but 
 he lives alone, in worse exile than did his former 
 rival. He has never crowed since his defeat, except 
 and I fear your readers, who know the beautiful 
 old tradition, will hardly believe the exception, which 
 is true all the same at sunset on Christmas Eve. 
 " Outis," in his place, crows constantly and loud ; but 
 I am often sorry to see him use his now acknow- 
 ledged superiority in a very revengeful spirit, as if he 
 remembered past days of his own suffering. On 
 these occasions "Jupiter" is wont to appeal to the 
 State for protection, and he invariably receives it 
 from the sovereign authority, an exceedingly powerful 
 old bird, who settles matters, whenever he takes the 
 trouble, in a very summary way. 
 
 We are all very sorry for " Jupiter," whose general 
 grace and culture naturally place him far above his 
 rival, a bird of a somewhat vulgar and commonplace 
 type, though physically strong. But he brought his
 
 i6o CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 discomfiture on himself entirely by his own vftpt? of 
 intolerant self-assertion. 
 
 If what I have written reads like an allegory, I 
 cannot help it ; it is literal fact. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 F. S. L. 
 
 January 8, 1876.
 
 BIRDS. 161 
 
 JACKDAWS AND MEN. 
 
 SIR, The following statement, the accuracy of which 
 I can guarantee, may perhaps interest some of your 
 readers. On Saturday last one of my children pur- 
 chased two young jackdaws from a boy, who probably 
 had taken them from their nest. Jackdaws abound 
 in this island. The young birds were fully fledged, 
 but were scarcely able to fly. They were left for the 
 night on a balcony, in the belief that they could not 
 escape. Early on Sunday morning two old jackdaws 
 made their appearance, and after some trouble suc- 
 ceeded in taking the young birds on their back, and 
 then began to fly away with them. Unfortunately 
 the old birds were startled by the barking of our 
 dogs, and in their panic the little birds fell to the 
 ground. The servants, who witnessed this attempt 
 at rescue, picked up the young birds, and put them 
 into a place of security. One of the birds was ap- 
 parently injured by its fall, and died a few hours 
 afterwards. Later in the day, as I was sitting in the 
 garden, I saw eight jackdaws circling in the air, and 
 uttering loud cries. Seeing this, I brought the sur- 
 viving youngling out from its cage, and turned it 
 
 12
 
 162 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 loose into the garden. I then made every human 
 being quit the garden, and ordered a strict watch to 
 be kept from the house. In a short time the eight 
 jackdaws descended, and called the little one to them. 
 It made a feeble effort to fly, but could only succeed 
 in reaching the lowermost bough of a small tree. 
 Then one of the old jackdaws, coming to it, induced 
 it to mount on him, and then the whole party went 
 off in triumph. This was witnessed by several 
 persons. I do not think that the jackdaws' nest can 
 have been near to my house, which is surrounded by 
 other houses, and has no large trees or rocks in its 
 immediate vicinity. 
 
 How did the bereaved old birds find out where 
 their young ones were ? How, when they had failed 
 in their first attempt at rescue, did they manage to 
 call in the assistance of friends ? I am induced to 
 believe with Cowper, that jackdaws are wiser than 
 men. If, during the Berlin Congress, Lord Cairns 
 and Lord Cranbrook, with the rest of the Cabinet, 
 had flown to Berlin and brought home those two 
 callow fledglings, Lords Beaconsfield and Salisbury, 
 on their backs, the fate of the East might have been 
 changed. I should like to have seen their homeward 
 procession, and would gladly have lent the Ministerial 
 jackdaws some plumes for their triumphant return. 
 I am, Sir, &c. FRANK IVES SCUDAMORE. 
 
 P.S. One of my sons declares that the young 
 birds which my little girl purchased were young 
 crows, and not young jackdaws. I think that he is
 
 BIRDS. 163 
 
 wrong, for I have been well acquainted with crows 
 and jackdaws for many years, but as I do not wish 
 to do any dishonour to the ancient family of my old 
 friend " maitre Corbeau," I give my son's view for 
 what it is worth. So far as the instinct and the in- 
 telligence of the birds are concerned, it matters little 
 whether they were jackdaws or crows. Politically, I 
 should not be much troubled if the Berlin Congress 
 had been terminated either by the Conservative jack- 
 daws or by the Liberal crows. 
 
 July 5, 1879.
 
 164 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 STARLINGS NOT FRUIT-EATERS. 
 
 SIR, I am thunderstruck at a most confident asser- 
 tion in an article upon " Starlings " in Chambers 's 
 Journal of this month, namely, that they are not 
 fruit-eaters. The writer professes to have a most 
 intimate acquaintance with these birds, watching 
 their habits day by day at that season of the year 
 when they return to an old haunt to breed and rear 
 their young. I also have for years been intimate 
 with the starling, and my friendship if it may be so 
 called is not during a particular season, but is an 
 all-the-year-round one, as it stays with me during the 
 winter (the writer of the article in question dates from 
 Scotland, whence the starlings depart in autumn). 
 Alas for my cherry and mulberry trees, my cherry- 
 trees especially ! Fond as I am of these birds, who 
 dwell with me in scores on the eaves and by the 
 chimneys, I should have rejoiced exceedingly if they 
 had not been fruit-eaters ; then perhaps there might 
 have been a chance of a cherry-pie or two out of 
 those rosy Kentish cherries every June. But no ; 
 my starlings, for they are my friends in the main, not
 
 BIRDS. 165 
 
 only like cherries, but are so fastidious about them 
 that for one they eat, three or four at least they spoil ; 
 they must be ripe ; they will, to be sure, take off the 
 red bite off one side, but the pale half is rejected. 
 Our paddock in the time of cherries was strewn with 
 discarded debris. Once, making a desperate attempt 
 to have some of these ripe ones for ourselves, myself 
 and handmaiden had almost to contend for the spoil 
 with these marauders. They occupied the top 
 branches, which were laden with the best, whilst we 
 gathered from the lower. We waved sticks at them. 
 " Tcha-a ! " they called out, as much as to say, " We 
 won't go empty-billed." Nor did they ; we saw each 
 of them fly off with its bunch, full half of which was 
 ultimately thrown away. Considering that these 
 cherry-trees attracted starlings in crowds, we had them 
 removed and replaced with apple-trees. 
 
 Near the house is a fine mulberry-tree. The window 
 at which I am now writing is on a level with the fruit- 
 bearing branches. It is also only a few feet below 
 the starlings' abode. Here, through the spring, look- 
 ing up from my book or paper, I see with pleasure all 
 their family and household ways. To this mulberry- 
 tree the young ones first take their flight from the 
 nest. A few weeks since, day after day, I counted 
 fourteen starlings feasting off mulberries. They did 
 not fly away with them ; they perched on the boughs, 
 and, half-hidden by the clustering leaves, they ate the 
 luscious fruit undisturbed. The ground beneath was 
 stained purple with the quantities they let fall. They 
 were in the most amusing state of jollity whilst the
 
 166 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 mulberry harvest lasted. For a change of diet they 
 would sometimes condescend to adjourn to the elder- 
 berries, but that was only a whim. How about 
 starlings not being fruit-eaters ? I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 (MRS.) E. M. EDMONDS. 
 October 22, 1887.
 
 BIRDS. 167 
 
 THE SONGS OF BIRDS AND THE 
 PHONOGRAPH. 
 
 SIR, I was standing for some time a few evenings 
 ago listening to the song of the thrush, which I have 
 listened to a hundred times before with the same feel- 
 ing with which I wrote in my " History of British 
 Birds " : " As for the note, that man can have no 
 music in his soul who does not love the song of the 
 throstle." But I noticed at the time, what, indeed, 
 I had often noticed in former years, that while the 
 likeness is general in the song of each and every bird 
 at all times, yet that it varies in this or that one, as in 
 the variations of this or that tune a general resem- 
 blance, a specific difference no two perhaps ever 
 exactly the same in every note and quaver and trill. 
 It is just the same with the attitudes of birds. Often 
 I have had to say to myself as I looked at a bird in 
 one or other position as it stood perched on a branch 
 or on the ground, that if its likeness had been taken 
 there and then by some exact limner, every one who 
 saw it would have said at once that he knew nothing 
 of birds or of drawing, for that no bird ever naturally 
 stood in any such posture. 
 
 But, a capo, to the note. No one who in reading for 
 honours at Oxford has taken up Aristophanes for one
 
 168 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 of his books, will ever be able to forget that most 
 entertaining writer in the accounts of his " Birds." 
 Every one who has read the play will remember what 
 the various birds have said, and how they said it. 
 But neither Aristophanes himself, nor any other 
 writer of verse or prose, could ever reproduce their 
 notes, whether in writing or description, with any 
 exactitude. You listen, and try to keep them in 
 your mind, but it is a vain attempt. You endeavour 
 to impri'nt each change on your memory, but as 
 vainly : abiit, evasit, erupit. There have been number- 
 less attempts to write down in words the notes of the 
 songs of birds, but no one can say that they have 
 been very successful. 
 
 But the reason why I have written at such length, 
 is as a prelude to a thought that occurred to me as I 
 stood listening to the bird I have spoken of. At the 
 moment it occurred to me that it might be quite pos- 
 sible to take down every note of its song by means of 
 the phonograph, and then, by reproducing them more 
 at leisure, they could be written down " in score " by 
 any musician ; Art and Nature thus going hand-in- 
 hand. I may be wrong, but that is what occurred to 
 me as a " happy thought " while I listened to those 
 liquid notes of the song-thrush on the bough overhead. 
 
 And, further, I thought what a solace it might be 
 to some sufferer in a sick-room, to be able to enjoy 
 the pleasure without the sad drawback of its being at 
 the cost of some poor bird in a cage. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 F. O. MORRIS. 
 
 May 31, 1890.
 
 BIRDS. 169 
 
 BIRDS IN FOG. 
 
 SIR, With reference to the remark in your interest- 
 ing article on the above subject in the Spectator of 
 December 2/th, that "rooks and partridges do not 
 seem to alter their habits in the fog so much as other 
 birds that seek their living in the open country," you 
 may think the following incident worth recording : 
 Some thirteen or fourteen years ago I was staying in 
 an old house in the suburbs of London, the garden of 
 which, although it was not more than five miles from 
 Hyde Park Corner, was the home of multitudinous 
 birds. One afternoon, during a dense fog that turned 
 day into night, a flight of rooks came over the garden, 
 cawing noisily. They seemed to be wheeling about 
 just overhead discussing the advisability of staying 
 there, and after a few circuits descended into a cedar- 
 tree of great size and beauty which stood close to the 
 house, and after much talk there settled down for the 
 night. There were many and far higher trees all 
 round that one would have thought would have been 
 more likely to show through the fog ; possibly the 
 thick foliage and the roomy branches of the cedar 
 that enabled them to roost close tog-ether for mutual
 
 170 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 protection may have influenced their decision in the 
 unusual circumstances in which they found themselves. 
 The next morning, the fog having cleared off, the 
 birds took their departure at daybreak. They had 
 evidently lost their way hopelessly, though they were 
 probably close to home, for though there was no 
 rookery in this particular garden, there was more 
 than one in the immediate neighbourhood, and a 
 large colony within three miles. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 H. F. B. 
 January 10, 1891.
 
 BIRDS. 171 
 
 THE LIBELS ON BIRDS. 
 
 SIR, The article in the Spectator of February I4th 
 upon " The Sinfulness of Novelty " contained for me 
 one paragraph of special interest, for it was to the 
 effect that " the crow that develops white feathers, 
 and is pecked to death by its fellow-crows, may, for 
 all we know, have excited their jealous anger more 
 than their fear of an unknown monstrosity." Now, I 
 hope it is a fiction that crows peck their fellow-crows 
 to death, from any motive, when they happen to 
 appear in unorthodox colours ; for " Jacko," my tame 
 rook, has lately developed half a dozen white feathers, 
 and rooks and crows so evidently belong to the same 
 family, that how could poor " Jacko " be safe with the 
 " rookery rooks," among whom he spends his days, if 
 their envy or fear was excited by his somewhat varie- 
 gated appearance ? But they walk and fly about to- 
 gether just as usual, the wild rooks taking not the 
 least notice of " Jacko's " fast-whitening wings. And 
 from that other libel upon my feathered friends, that 
 if a poor tame bird escapes from its cage, the wild 
 birds will quickly kill it, my own experience would 
 seem to clear them ; for between four and five years
 
 172 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 ago a beautiful canary suddenly appeared in the 
 garden here no one ever knew where it came from 
 and for a whole month it was flying about with the 
 sparrows, who never for a moment seemed to think of 
 harming in any way their yellow-coated little com- 
 panion. Indeed, if there was any difference, it was 
 "Tweet" so named because of its pleasant little 
 chirp that had rather the upper hand ; but they 
 were the best possible friends, and were constantly 
 together. Sometimes I should miss him for several 
 hours, and think he was gone altogether ; but later in 
 the day he has come back with quite a little flock of 
 sparrows, having evidently shared their flight about 
 the neighbouring gardens. That it did not go away 
 altogether, was perhaps owing to the fact of the con- 
 stant and liberal supply of canary-seed it found scat- 
 tered about the gardens, and at last I thought it 
 might be coaxed into the greenhouse by the same 
 means and it was and venturing in there one 
 morning for its breakfast, it was easily captured and 
 caged ; and though it had been " on the spree " for so 
 long, and such a "spree " for such a little creature, it 
 was just as happy in captivity as when flying about 
 the trees ; and how glad I was to know it safe from 
 all dangers, from neighbours' cats I had more than 
 once caught watching it, and from the coming winter 
 and almost certain starvation. It was late in Sep- 
 tember when its adventures were finished, and there 
 were a few quite stormy nights, when I wondered 
 where poor, brave little " Tweet " was roosting. 
 
 Now, as this one little tame bird when it flew out
 
 BIRDS. 173 
 
 into the world found friends instead of enemies, and 
 as " Jacko " flaunts his white feathers unmolested by 
 his companions, may we not hope that birds are 
 libelled by the general belief that they will " peck to 
 death" a fellow-bird because of anything unusual, 
 either in its " ways " or its appearance ? I am, Sir, 
 &c., S. W. 
 
 February 21, 1891.
 
 174 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 THE LIBELS ON BIRDS. 
 
 SIR, For a "last word" on the subject of birds 
 pecking their fellow-birds to death merely because of 
 their exhibiting unusual plumage, I should like to 
 suggest that your correspondent, Mr. G. A. Craig, 
 proves rather the cruelty of those on board his vessel 
 than the cruelty of the birds. For where is the 
 analogy between the birds that, from natural causes, 
 have developed white feathers, and the birds that, for 
 a most unnatural " amusement," have been smothered 
 with soot ? A love of cleanliness, rather than a dis- 
 like of black feathers, may have accounted for the 
 vigorous measures resorted to by the companions of 
 those poor, ill-treated sea-birds. Or, possibly, birds, 
 like many other things, are imitative ; and, while the 
 rooks and the sparrows here never meet with anything 
 but kindness, the poor sea-birds that followed (so 
 mistakenly) Mr. Craig's vessel were first caught with 
 fish-hooks that their wings might disfigure bonnets 
 and hats, and to vary the " amusement," those that 
 were not destined for " trimming " were " covered with 
 soot," and then turned loose amongst their frightened 
 and unrecognising companions ! Quite possibly, if I
 
 BIRDS. 175 
 
 were to whitewash poor " Jacko," then turn him loose 
 among the " Rookery rooks," they would not be so 
 untroubled at his appearance as they are at the white 
 feathers of Nature's painting. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 S. W. 
 
 [The " love of cleanliness " could hardly necessitate 
 the pecking of the blackened bird to death. Our 
 correspondent is not at all too hard on the cruelty of 
 the sailors, but we do not think that he makes out a 
 very good case for his birds. ED. Spectator^ 
 
 March 7, 1891.
 
 176 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 BIRDS IN LONDON. 
 
 SIR, At Highbury we consider we are in London, 
 and therefore our surprise is great to find the great 
 titmouse (a pair) a frequenter of our garden. We 
 have lived here for many years, but never saw this 
 bird till now. We have always had the robin, thrush, 
 and blackbird. I send this in case you think it worthy 
 of mention in your valuable paper. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 A. GARRETT. 
 October 24, 1891.
 
 BIRDS. 177 
 
 BIRDS IN LONDON. 
 
 SIR, Having read the interesting accounts of unusual 
 bird- visitors in London, I offer yet one more letter 
 which may interest the readers of your valuable 
 paper. Brixton, though a suburb of London, is 
 within the four-miles' radius from Charing Cross, and 
 we are surrounded by streets ; also a noisy railway 
 runs at the end of our garden. Notwithstanding 
 these disturbing elements, for several successive 
 autumns we have observed the regular visits of the 
 cuckoo. We think he comes into our garden for the 
 numerous caterpillars which infest the wild plants 
 which we grow, and this autumn he paid us an 
 unusually late visit, coming in the early part of Sep- 
 tember ! Last December, when the snow was thick 
 on the ground, we saw a moorhen stalking along the 
 garden-path. He came down to the back-door of the 
 house. Now, we are not near any water where such 
 a bird would be likely to live, but as we kept two 
 geese in a pen in the garden, we think their cry may 
 have attracted the moorhen. The following is a list 
 of the different birds we have noticed in our narrow 
 
 13
 
 178 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 " London garden " : Whitethroat, wood-warbler, 
 wren, thrush, titmice, rook, blackbird, starling, coletit, 
 hedgesparrow, robin, linnet, chaffinch, and of course 
 the misjudged sparrows in abundance. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 FLORENCE E. BARLOW. 
 November 14, 1891.
 
 BIRDS. 179 
 
 A TAME KESTREL. 
 
 SIR, You were kind enough two years ago to take 
 an interest in my little tame kestrel, and I venture to 
 hope you may now like to hear more about him. 
 Having to leave our house in Shropshire, we took the 
 bird by train to Staffordshire, where he apparently 
 lost his way, as he disappeared for a fortnight. By 
 means of advertisements in all the local papers, we 
 found him near Crewe, where a kind platelayer had 
 seen and secured him while stunned by flying against 
 telegraph-wires. This year we have had occasion to 
 move into Oxfordshire, and after a few days released 
 " Jacky " from his cage. He seems to be afraid of 
 again losing himself, as though he constantly takes a 
 long and rapid flight across the park, he immediately 
 returns to sit on a garden-bench by the side of any 
 friend of his who may be there, or to search for an 
 open door or window by which he may rejoin us. He 
 cannot bear being shut out, and pecks hard at a 
 window until he is let in. If possible, he sleeps in 
 the house, and allows us to lift and carry him about 
 to a more suitable perch than the head of one's bed, 
 or the side-table in the dining-room, without opening
 
 i8o CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 his eyes, or doing more than remonstrate in a sub- 
 dued and sleepy voice. Like my free but perfectly 
 tame rook and carrion-crow, he cannot resist talking ; 
 whether by day or night, all three invariably reply 
 when talked to or called. " Jacky " has a low twitter- 
 ing note of pleasure, quite different from that of the 
 ordinary kestrel. He keenly enjoys sitting on a sunny 
 window-seat, and letting us stroke him and smooth 
 his feathers. Never does he give us the powerful 
 stroke of the claw with which he kills a mouse, his 
 only large game, in an instant. Oddly enough, he 
 again, like the rook and crow, prefers boiled macaroni 
 to any other form of food, and will carefully remove 
 the raw meat or mouse on his plate in order to reach 
 the macaroni beneath. Bread-and-butter he eats as 
 readily. In fact, I think most birds and beasts love 
 a change of food. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 ELLINOR C. L. CLOSE. 
 May 14, 1892.
 
 BIRDS. 181 
 
 AN ORNITHOLOGICAL EVICTION. 
 
 SIR, The authorities of a small place in the Pfalz 
 recently decided in solemn council to remove a stork's 
 nest from the top of a very high church-steeple. The 
 nest could only be approached outside the steeple by 
 means of a specially fixed ladder. The storks saw 
 the slater who had undertaken the perilous task, 
 approaching, but waited calmly until he was quite 
 near. Then they flew away, and the slater triumph- 
 antly removed the nest. Arrived on the ground with 
 his trophy, he was warmly congratulated on his feat 
 by the assembled inhabitants of the place ; but lo ! at 
 the same moment the evicted storks returned with 
 materials for a new nest, which they began to build 
 on the same spot without delay. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 EIN THIERFREUND. 
 May 14, 1892.
 
 1 82 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 VULTURES. 
 
 SIR, Perhaps the following incident would interest 
 students of natural history amongst your readers. 
 Last week some sports took place at a station near 
 here, one of the events being what is popularly known 
 as a " Victoria-Cross Race " that is, the competitors 
 have to ride some distance, taking two or three 
 hurdles on their way, to a point where there are 
 arranged a number of figures in stuffed cases, shaped 
 like human bodies ; they then dismount, fire a round 
 of blank cartridge, pick up a dummy each, and race 
 back. In this case, after the sports were over the 
 dummies were left on the ground, and in about half 
 an hour after the ground was deserted I noticed a 
 vulture settle on the ground close to the dummies ; in 
 about another five minutes more than thirty had 
 collected. The birds seemed much puzzled as they 
 carefully inspected each lay-figure, walking from one 
 to the next all along the line, and eventually, after 
 sitting in a circle for a short time, flew away. These 
 birds must have discovered the dummies by sight, 
 though I have often heard that vultures rely on their 
 sense of smell as well. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 C. W. H. BRUCE. 
 September 17, 1892.
 
 BIRDS. 183 
 
 A BIRD STORY. 
 
 SIR, I hope, although the incident may be trivial, 
 that the little fact may interest your readers as much 
 as it did myself when I was listening some nights ago 
 to the little lark of whom my story tells, piping away 
 in what the poets call "dulcet strains" of the most 
 melodious music. 
 
 My friend James Shanock, three years ago, caught 
 a young lark, and it has been pouring out its song 
 ever since then from its cage, and a very sweet note it 
 is. Some little while ago, as the afternoon was sunny, 
 the cage was hung outside in the garden at the 
 moment another lark was carolling in the air, and 
 Shanock's bird rose from the cage, which was only 
 covered with a fine net, and in which there must have 
 been a rent, and disappeared in the direction of the 
 other lark. My friend seeing this at once began to 
 whistle, holding up the cage to attract his pet back 
 again, and in a very short time down it came to his 
 feet, and waited patiently while he gently replaced 
 him in his cage. There were three witnesses, I 
 believe, in this case. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 G. W. HEARLE. 
 
 P.S. The funniest thing, too, is that about the 
 same time James Shanock's cat brought him in a
 
 184 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 little bird quite delicately, and waited for him to take 
 it from his mouth quite uninjured. He is a great 
 bird-lover, and it looks as if the cat, like everybody 
 else, knew this fact. 
 
 March n, 1893.
 
 BIRDS. 185 
 
 A BIRD STORY. 
 
 SIR, Will you allow me to add a touching instance 
 of courage to your pleasant bird stories ? Early one 
 morning last summer I was called to the window by 
 a great noise among the bird people of the garden, 
 and saw the following scene. A young blackbird was 
 standing fascinated by a cat, who was crouched under 
 a bush ready to spring on him. An old blackbird, on 
 an ilex close by, was uttering loud and agitated cries, 
 and there was a general cackle of anger and sym- 
 pathy from other birds all round. After a few 
 seconds the cat sprang on the young bird and held 
 him down. At that instant the old bird came down 
 on them. There was a moment's struggle, the bird 
 beating her wings violently in the cat's face and, I 
 think, pecking at her eyes ; then the cat jumped back 
 to her bush, the young bird made off with long hops, 
 and the old one flew up to the ilex, amidst a jubilant 
 chorus of commendation which lasted quite some 
 minutes. I never saw this before, though I have seen 
 a robin come quite close to a cat stalking another 
 bird, and scold and flap his wings in her face. 
 
 The ways of birds are delightful, and in a small 
 garden you can have many by keeping earthenware 
 saucers full of water for them to bathe in. I am, 
 Sir, &c., E. G. P. 
 
 March 25, 1893.
 
 i86 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 ANOTHER BIRD STORY. 
 
 SIR, I have read with pleasure the stories of bird- 
 life which appear from time to time in your paper, 
 and as it may interest some of your readers, I send 
 you the following narrative. Some years ago my 
 father had a pair of common white pigeons. They 
 were very tame, and became very much attached to 
 him ; so much so that they were almost his constant 
 companions, accompanying him in his walks, or when 
 out driving. They would answer his whistle like a 
 dog, and would alight on his proffered hand, or enter 
 his pocket if opened for them. A sceptical friend 
 thought they would show the same familiarity to any 
 other person, and, to give them a fair trial, he procured 
 a suit of clothes of the same colour as that which my 
 father wore. Arrayed in his disguise, our sceptical 
 friend, imitating my father's whistle as nearly as pos- 
 sible, whistled to the pigeons. Immediately they left 
 their perch on the house-top and flew down to the 
 hand held out to receive them ; but when they came 
 within a few yards of it, they suddenly checked them- 
 selves, fluttered perplexedly for a few moments around 
 our friend, and then flew back to the house-top. This
 
 BIRDS. 187 
 
 was conclusive evidence. But a sad accident hap- 
 pened. One morning one of the pigeons was found 
 upon the high-road dead, its body bearing marks of 
 injury ; but from what cause we never knew. We 
 carried the dead body home, and buried it in a sunny 
 and quiet spot in the garden. For three days the 
 surviving pigeon, with untiring energy, searched the 
 country far and near for its mate, but in vain. It 
 refused to touch food, and even the influence which 
 my father usually exercised over it was gone. On 
 the third day we found it dead in the dovecot, its little 
 heart broken with grief by the loss of its lifelong com- 
 panion. We buried it beside its mate. Since then 
 my father has never kept pets. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 WILLIAM Ross. 
 April i, 1893.
 
 1 88 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A SWISS BIRD STORY. 
 
 SlR, Here is a bird story from Switzerland. An 
 old peasant from the Pratigau who was dining with 
 us to-night gave us an amusing account of a wood- 
 pecker at Couters, his home in that quiet valley. 
 One day this bird began boring its hole in one of the 
 logs of Herr Brosi's chalet. All night it went on 
 working, and never stopped until at last it succeeded 
 in getting inside the wainscoting of their " stube," or 
 living-room. Its continual tapping began to worry 
 Herr Brosi's wife, who said that she could not stand 
 it. So next morning out he went and nailed a piece 
 of wood over the hole. No sooner had he left than 
 the woodpecker began its work again, but this time 
 above its last hole. Again it was stopped, and so it 
 went on until the perforated log was almost covered 
 by Herr Brosi's pieces of board. In the end the 
 bird's perseverance was rewarded, and it was allowed 
 to have its own way, built its nest in the hole it had 
 worked so hard to obtain, and since then has returned 
 many succeeding years, and brought up numerous 
 flourishing families. But once before its arrival, two 
 tomtits, searching for a suitable place in which to
 
 BIRDS. 189 
 
 build, discovered this sheltered hole, which suited 
 their habits, and immediately began to gather materials 
 for lining it. When they had almost finished, the 
 woodpecker, discovering their intrusion, turned them 
 out of the domain which it had conquered with such 
 trouble, and again took possession. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 KATHERINE SYMONDS. 
 July i, 1893.
 
 190 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A BIRD STORY. 
 
 SIR, I think the following may interest your 
 readers. While staying with my father in Worcester- 
 shire this week, he told us the following story at the 
 breakfast-table. His attention was attracted by 
 sounds outside his dressing-room window, as of a 
 bird in distress, and on looking out he saw a young 
 house-martin clinging to the outside of its nest (which 
 was built in an angle of the window), evidently very 
 frightened, and uttering shrill cries. The parent bird, 
 still in the nest, was firmly holding the outstretched 
 wing of the young one with her beak ; then coming 
 out of the nest herself, they both flew away in a 
 downward direction, the little bird being still sup- 
 ported in the same way by the parent. I should be 
 glad if any one could tell me if this is the usual way 
 in which house-martins teach their young to fly. I 
 am, Sir, &c., B. H. BLAKE. 
 
 August 25, 1894.
 
 BIRDS. 191 
 
 HOUSE-MARTINS. 
 
 SIR, A few days before reading the letter of your 
 Worcestershire correspondent, in the Spectator of 
 August 25th, a lady who is my neighbour here, in 
 speaking of the flight of the young house-martins 
 from the nests beneath her eaves, told me of the case 
 of one lazy one (delicate, I considerately suggested), 
 who, although fully fledged like the others of its 
 family, refused to take the wing with them. Hearing 
 more than the usual outcry attending the dispersal of 
 a brood, my informant went out, and saw one of the 
 parent birds dragging (not merely assisting) out the 
 laggard youngster, with much clamour and gesticula- 
 tion on both sides. This lady, who may be said to 
 have passed her life with the martins beneath the 
 mossgrown eaves, did not relate the fact as a strange 
 one, but assured me that such an instance was 
 common enough in her experience, and that she had 
 always regarded it as an example of parental dis- 
 cipline on the part of the swallows. The questionable 
 sympathy of the animal world with its infirmer mem- 
 bers is sufficiently known, so that (as in the case 
 above) the grip of your correspondent's elder bird
 
 192 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 upon the wing of the younger may not impossibly 
 have been a prolonged, because much-needed en- 
 forcement of the lesson intended. Of course, as is 
 suggested, it may just as probably have been a 
 manifestation of helpful sympathy, as instances of 
 this too are frequent ; but in either case the illustra- 
 tion of parental virtue would be an equally strong 
 one. The piece of behaviour referred to, however, 
 hardly seems sufficiently common to warrant the 
 supposition that instruction in the use of wings is 
 any more generally necessary in the world of youthful 
 house-martins than in others with which we are more 
 directly familiar. I am, Sir, c., 
 
 ALGERNON GISSING. 
 September 8, 1894.
 
 BIRDS. 193 
 
 A BIRD STORY. 
 
 SIR, This episode in the life of an Australian bird, 
 received in a letter from Queensland, may be in- 
 teresting to your readers : " Since you take an interest 
 in my birds, you may like to know that the jackass 
 has come back, after an absence of nearly three weeks. 
 One wet evening just before sundown, I heard their 
 voices [quite near, and saw two birds on a stump. 
 Looking through the glasses I saw that one of them 
 had a cut wing. I went out, and there was my wan- 
 dering boy, opening his mouth for his supper, and 
 quite ready to go home with me. The wild birds, 
 however, do not like the arrangement, and one of 
 them has spent almost all her time since (about three 
 days) in trying to get him away again. She is there 
 early and late in the trees near the house and on the 
 posts of the fence, calling and persuading, and he 
 answers her, evidently arguing the matter. When we 
 are all inside, she even comes on to the verandah, and 
 brings him a choice variety of worms and centipedes. 
 This morning she brought him a lizard, quite eight 
 inches long. I feel that great consideration is due to 
 her. She must have saved his life, for he had not the 
 
 14
 
 194 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 least idea of foraging for himself when he went away. 
 The others are well. ' Choy,' the butcher-bird, nearly 
 did for himself a few days ago by hobbling himself 
 with a skein of red sewing silk. He got it twisted 
 round both his feet, and then round and round the 
 back of his tongue, which became quite swollen and 
 
 black. Dr. D was hastily called. I held his 
 
 mouth open, and with the help of scissors and crochet- 
 needle he was set free much subdued." I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 L. G. 
 June 22, 1895.
 
 INSECTS AND REPTILES. 
 
 THE INTELLIGENCE OF BEES. 
 
 SIR, I have just read your extremely interesting 
 paper on the power of bees to communicate with each 
 other. I do not know if the following story the 
 truth of which I vouch for is of any value as an 
 illustration. 
 
 Some years ago a boy playing with a jackdaw in a 
 large garden where bees were kept came near the hives, 
 and the bird hopped on to the little platform in front of 
 one of these houses. It was about sunset, and the bees 
 had nearly all returned from their day's outing among 
 the heather ; the few late arrivals, as soon as they 
 alighted at their own door, were rapidly despatched 
 by Jack's sharp beak. This lasted for a minute or 
 two, when some bees were observed issuing from the 
 door of the hive, and the bird assailed them at once, 
 and killed them as fast as they crawled out. Then 
 there was a pause, no bee going out or coming in, as 
 far as the boy could see, but he heard a humming 
 
 195
 
 196 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 sound inside the hive, and immediately there came 
 out of the low doorway a strong band of bees, so close 
 to each other, that poor Jack, work as hard as he 
 could, had no chance with them. He was attacked 
 in the rear, and took to flight ; but rapidly as he flew, 
 the bees were faster, and a cloud spread out like a 
 sheet, pursued him for nearly a mile, when they over- 
 took him in the air, and the boy saw his favourite pet 
 fall fluttering to the ground, where he picked him up, 
 his eyes closed, and his head swollen to twice its 
 natural size. 
 
 In this case the bees knew how to communicate 
 " intelligence," and how to act. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 DAVID DOUGLAS. 
 
 June 19, 1875.
 
 INSECTS AND REPTILES. 197 
 
 THE INTERPRETATION OF ANIMAL 
 CHARACTER. 
 
 SIR, In your very interesting article on "The 
 Interpretation of Animal Character" you thus sum 
 up your remarks on Sir John Lubbock's observations 
 of the habits of the particular carpenter- wasp described 
 by him : " If there be no power of adaptation of 
 resources to meet new difficulties, it is incredible that, 
 there can be arithmetical capacity enough for counting 
 ten. We should take the power of an animal to meet 
 unexpected emergencies of a simple kind as the most 
 elementary of all tests of reason as distinguished from 
 mere instinct. The ant or the beaver which makes 
 good the injuries of whatever kind which happens to 
 its settlement, certainly reasons." As bearing on the 
 question raised, may I be permitted to recall the very 
 singular case recorded by Huber of the conduct of 
 bees whose hives had been plundered by the moth 
 Acherontia atropos (the well-known death's-head 
 moth)? This moth, as most of your entomological 
 readers may be aware, is singular among Lepidoptera 
 in its capacity of uttering a peculiar piping sound, 
 closely resembling a sound emitted by the queen-bee
 
 198 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 in certain circumstances, which has a most extraordi- 
 nary effect on the inmates of the hives. Huber thus 
 describes it : " The effects are very remarkable. As 
 soon as the sound was heard, bees that had been 
 employed in plucking, biting, and chasing the queen 
 about, hung down their heads, and remained alto- 
 gether motionless ; and whenever she had recourse to 
 this attitude and sound, they operated upon them in 
 the same manner." One summer, the beekeepers in 
 the district of Switzerland where Huber resided, were 
 much puzzled to account for the apparent bad success 
 of their bees. The season had been good, the bees 
 were healthy and active, but the hives, when lifted, 
 were very light. The results of all their industry 
 were most disappointing. A watch was set upon the 
 hives, when the cause was soon discovered. In the 
 twilight of the evening, the moth I have mentioned, 
 which was unusually plentiful that year, was detected 
 in large numbers entering the hives. This they were 
 able to do with impunity by their producing the 
 singular noise which I have described. Apparently 
 the same effects were produced upon the bees as were 
 caused by the similar noise emitted by the queen. In 
 this way it appeared the moths had been successful 
 in their plundering the hives. When this was dis- 
 covered, the proprietors of the hives placed before the 
 entrance a grating of wire with apertures sufficient to 
 admit the bees, but too small to allow of the entrance 
 of the moth. The consequence was an immediate 
 improvement in the yield of honey. But what seemed 
 very singular, those hives which were not so protected
 
 INSECTS AND REPTILES. 199 
 
 also shared in the improvement. On examination, a 
 most singular discovery was made. Behind the en- 
 trance of the unprotected hive unprotected by the 
 owner it was found that the bees had constructed a 
 double wall of a mixture of wax and propolis, the one 
 close behind the other, each of them perforated with 
 apertures through which the bees found admission to 
 the hives, but those of the inner wall placed not 
 opposite to the apertures of the outer wall, so that the 
 bee had to turn in the narrow space between the two 
 walls, an operation impossible to the moth, even had 
 it been able to push itself through the hole in the 
 outer wall. In this way the bees had successfully 
 defended themselves, as their neighbours had been 
 defended by their proprietors. This would seem most 
 completely to answer your test, " The power of an 
 animal to meet an emergency of a simple kind." 
 Surely, one would say, here is as ample proof of 
 reason as is given by the ant or by the beaver in 
 making good an injury to its settlement. The bees 
 proved that they knew the cause of their unsuccessful 
 labour. They reasoned shall we say ? what would 
 keep out the depredator ; but their knowledge and 
 their reason were not strong enough to overcome the 
 singular instinct which caused them to lie still and 
 motionless under the influence of the plunderer's 
 music, instead of stinging her to death in a moment, 
 as they would have done to any other intruder. I 
 am, Sir, &c., D. McL. 
 
 [This fact, if well authenticated, is not only very
 
 200 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 remarkable in itself, but would also prove that bees 
 are not deaf to the higher notes, though Sir John 
 Lubbock believes them to be deaf to the notes which 
 man hears most easily. ED. Spectator."] 
 
 February 26, 1887.
 
 INSECTS AND REPTILES. 201 
 
 A WASP POLICEMAN. 
 
 SIR, The letter from Eastbourne of March 26th 
 reminds me of an incident which interested us very 
 much last summer. My house is close to a large 
 wood, so that we are troubled by swarms of flies. 
 I had cut off a bough from an oak in the garden, and 
 some time after remarked that the cut surface was 
 wet with sap, which some half-dozen wasps were 
 greedily devouring. The nearer boughs were covered 
 with flies ; they made persistent attempts to obtain a 
 share of the sap, but in vain, for they were constantly 
 driven away by one of the wasps, which made no 
 attempt itself to eat, but attended steadily to its 
 policeman's duty. Every now and then all the wasps 
 rushed to and fro, and we fancied that at these times 
 the policeman was relieved. Though we could not 
 be sure about this, there was no room for doubt as to 
 the reality of the police duty, for none of the other 
 wasps tried to drive the flies away. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 R, S. CULLEY. 
 April 5, 1890.
 
 202 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A HERMIT WASP. 
 
 SIR, All through the past winter a solitary wasp 
 has been noticed in the garden here. On every occa- 
 sion when the sun made his appearance, the wasp 
 was also in evidence. 
 
 A few days ago, on turning over a board which 
 has been constantly used for the passage of a wheel- 
 barrow across a ditch, I discovered the hermit's cell. 
 The nest is of the usual grey, paper-like material, and 
 perfectly formed, but is only about the size of a small 
 walnut. Having evicted the tenant, I appropriated 
 his domicile, and a more beautiful and perfect speci- 
 men of insect architecture I have never seen. 
 
 Can you or any of your readers inform me if the 
 circumstance is unusual ? I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 CHARLES M. CLARKE, LL.D. 
 
 May 24, 1890.
 
 INSECTS AND REPTILES. 203 
 
 THE LIZARD'S LOVE OF MUSIC. 
 
 SIR, With reference to your interesting article on 
 " Animal ^Esthetics," I should like to give you one of 
 my own experiences. When in Switzerland two years 
 ago I made the acquaintance of some lizards, living 
 in the crevices of one of the sunny walls of our garden. 
 As I had somewhere heard that lizards have a good 
 ear for music, I resolved to prove the fact ; so one 
 afternoon, armed with a small musical-box, I wended 
 my steps to their tomato-covered home. Before I 
 had finished the first tune, a considerable audience 
 had collected an audience it was a pleasure to play 
 to, for the lizards were far more attentive than most 
 human beings. Out peered head after head, a little 
 on one side, in a listening attitude. I gave my little 
 friends a musical entertainment (varied by whistling) 
 nearly every day, and before long they got much 
 bolder, and would venture right out of their holes, and 
 lie motionless on the broad ledge of the wall, their 
 bright black eyes half-closed as a rule, but opening 
 now and then to give me a lazy wink of enjoyment. 
 I am, Sir, &c., L. I. A. 
 
 June 20, 1891.
 
 204 CAT A ^D BIRD STORIES. 
 
 INSECTS AND MUSIC. 
 
 SIR, In your article, " Orpheus at the Zoo," in the 
 Spectator of October 3rd, the tarantula's non-appre- 
 ciation of music is contrasted with the scorpion's very 
 sensitive ear for the violin. I have studied the habits 
 of the scorpion for many years, and have often noticed 
 how very sensitive scorpions are to the most delicate 
 sound, musical or otherwise. Under the thorax the 
 scorpion has two comb-like appendages, which are the 
 antennae (pectinatae). It is pretty well settled by 
 physiologists and entomologists that in insects the 
 antennae represent the organs of hearing. These 
 delicate structures are easily affected by the vibrations 
 of sound, and there can be no doubt whatever that 
 they are also affected by sounds quite inaudible to 
 the human ear. The slightest vibration of the atmo- 
 sphere, from any cause whatever, at once puts in 
 motion the delicate structures which compose the 
 antennae, to which organs insects owe the power of 
 protecting themselves against danger, as well as the 
 means of recognising the approach of one another. 
 Spiders have wonderful eyesight, but I am quite sure 
 that the scorpion's vision, notwithstanding his six 
 eyes, is far from being acute. It is very difficult to 
 catch a spider with a pair of forceps, but a scorpion 
 can be easily captured, if no noise is made. Spiders
 
 INSECTS AND REPTILES. 205 
 
 see their prey before they are caught in the web ; but 
 the scorpion makes no movement whatever to seize 
 flies or cockroaches until they indicate their where- 
 abouts by movements. This being the case, it can 
 readily be understood how easily the scorpion may be 
 roused into motion by the vibrations of music, as 
 described in the article alluded to. If a tuning-fork be 
 sounded on the table on which I keep my caged 
 scorpion, he at once becomes agitated, and strikes out 
 viciously with his sting. On touching him with the 
 vibrating tuning-fork, he stings it, and then coils him- 
 self up, as scorpions do when hedged in. In Jamaica, 
 the negroes believe that scorpions know their name ; 
 so they never call out, " See a scorpion," when they 
 meet with one on the ground or wall, for fear of his 
 escaping. They thus indirectly recognise the scorpion's 
 delicate appreciation of sound ; but if you wish to 
 stop a scorpion in his flight, blow air on him from the 
 mouth, and he at once coils himself up. I have 
 repeatedly done this ; but with the spider it has a 
 contrary effect. Music charms a snake into silence, 
 as the experiments at the Zoo and elsewhere prove ; 
 but the agitated contortions and writhings of the 
 scorpions when roused by the sound of the violin 
 only prove that they are roused by the vibrations of 
 sound caused by music, and this would happen if they 
 were disturbed by the discordant sounds of a penny- 
 trumpet, or any other unmusical instrument. I am, 
 Sir, &c, JASPER CARGILL, M.D. 
 
 December 19, 1891.
 
 206 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 HAVE SNAKES THE POWER OF SCENT? 
 
 SIR, In the Spectator of March i8th you head a 
 snake incident by asking, " Have Snakes the Power 
 of Scent?" That some attractive sympathy exists 
 amongst them seems evident. Some years ago a large 
 English snake was killed and left on the garden-path 
 near to the house. Having a great dread of the rep- 
 tiles, and the curious desire to look upon the " horror," 
 I went to see the dead serpent. It lay lifeless upon the 
 stony path ; but moving about its wounded head was 
 a living snake, apparently of the same species, and 
 too much engrossed with the grim object to notice my 
 presence. Some sympathy must have attracted the 
 shy creature to its mate. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 C. S. LUNN. 
 April i, 1893.
 
 INSECTS AND REPTILES. 207 
 
 FROGS AND WASPS. 
 
 SlR, As you and your readers seem interested in 
 odds-and-ends of natural history, I send you one 
 which may be worth publishing. Some time ago I 
 discovered accidentally that frogs are voracious eaters 
 of wasps. I have in my garden a tank for watering, 
 with an island of rock-work, which is a favourite 
 haunt of frogs. The wasps just now are carrying on 
 a raid against my fruit, and when I wish to gratify at 
 once my revenge and my frogs, I catch a marauder 
 between a postcard and an inverted wine-glass, carry 
 him off to the tank, wet his wings to prevent his 
 flying, and set him on the rock-work before the frogs. 
 After a moment's pause, a frog advances, and in an 
 instant the wasp has disappeared, drawn into the 
 frog's mouth by a single dart of his long tongue. 
 Occasionally the wasp reappears wholly or partially, 
 having made it unpleasant for the frog ; but he is 
 almost always swallowed in the end. Usually, con- 
 vulsive movements may be noticed in the frog's 
 throat and body, as though the process of deglutition 
 were not quite easy ; but that they like the diet is 
 evident from the fact that a single smallish frog has
 
 208 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 been known to take three wasps one after another. 
 Indeed, it is remarkable what very small frogs, quite 
 infants, will swallow a wasp with avidity. This after- 
 noon a tiny frog swallowed a full-grown wasp, when 
 a big relative went for him quite savagely, like a big 
 schoolboy thrashing a small one for presuming to 
 be helped before him. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 R. E. BARTLETT. 
 September 2, 1 893.
 
 INSECTS AND REPTILES. 209 
 
 ANIMAL ETIQUETTE. 
 
 SIR, Your article on " Animal Etiquette," in the 
 Spectator of March 2nd, does not notice a habit pre- 
 vailing in the bee world which seems to deserve that 
 name. It is that bees in a hive never turn their backs 
 on the queen. The members of her retinue (the 
 " ladies in waiting ") are ranged dutifully round her, 
 and the same order is maintained as the queen passes 
 on her way. One of the surest ways of finding the 
 queen (no easy task) is to look for a cluster of bees 
 the various members of which are standing in a circle, 
 their bodies radiating outwards like the spokes of a 
 wheel. It is believed that queens do not use their 
 stings, except in a battle royal a conflict with a rival 
 They may be handled at all times with impunity, 
 even put in the mouth (experto crede) without showing 
 any resentment, save by a bite ! In a royal sister 
 alone they seem to recognise a " foeman worthy of 
 their steel." Is this etiquette too ? or has it stretched 
 to the verge of prejudice ? 
 
 It is true bees have been known to kill a new queen 
 by suffocation, technically called " encasing," but the 
 
 15
 
 210 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 process has been explained as denoting an exuberance 
 of loyalty and joy at rinding a new sovereign, who is 
 thus literally " smothered by kindness " Qy., kisses. 
 I am, Sir, &c., L. T. RENDF.LL. 
 
 March 9, 1895.
 
 INSECTS AND REPTILES. 211 
 
 VARIETY OF CHARACTER IN INSECTS. 
 
 SlR, I have just read the latest " dog-story " in a 
 letter addressed to you in the Spectator of January 
 1 2th. The following sentence in this letter "To 
 prove that the disposition of animals are as varied as 
 those of human beings," recalls to my mind a fact 
 about insects which I think would interest some 
 people. No one who has ever kept animals as pets 
 can doubt their varied temperaments, but some 
 insects also manifest a like difference. When I was 
 a child I often amused myself with teasing spiders ; I 
 never hurt them. I would throw a small piece of leaf 
 into a nice newly-made web and watch the result. 
 Some spiders would rush out in a terrible rage and, 
 quite regardless of the beautiful new web, run right 
 across it and thrust out the offending object, doing 
 much damage to the new fly-trap in its course; others 
 of less hasty temper and of a more reflective turn of 
 mind would come quietly a short distance, look at the 
 object for a minute, and then quietly retire. Then 
 sometimes a spider would be in the centre of his web, 
 and when he saw me looking at him he would rush 
 away and hide himself, or he would tremble so as to
 
 212 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 violently shake his web. These facts are perfectly 
 true, and many were the spiders whom I used to visit. 
 These last I should call highly nervous insects. I 
 am, Sir, &c., C. J. 
 
 January 19, 1895.
 
 INSECTS AND REPTILES. 213 
 
 SAGACITY OF A QUEEN-BEE. 
 
 SIR, As you sometimes insert incidents illustrative 
 of natural history, the following may be interesting to 
 some of your readers : About three weeks ago I had 
 a small cast of bees. Not knowing the hive from 
 which they had come, and wishing them to find their 
 own way back, I proceeded to adopt the usual method 
 of capturing the queen. After throwing the bees on 
 to the sheet three times, I succeeded in finding her 
 and securing her between a wine-glass and a flat plate 
 of glass. I liberated one by one the few workers I 
 had inclosed with her. I then took her to my study, 
 intending to destroy her with chloroform. However, 
 in slipping the saturated tuft of cotton-wool under 
 the glass, she was too sharp for me, darted out, and, 
 making straight for the open window, escaped. My 
 study is in the front of the vicarage, and the swarm 
 were in the kitchen-garden at the back. I at once 
 ran to them to see if she had returned straight, but 
 found them in the state of wild confusion which indi- 
 cates absence of a queen. After watching them for 
 some time, I left them. Returning in about an hour, 
 I found them still rushing about. I went to look at 
 something else in the garden, and returned in about
 
 214 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 five minutes to find the aspect of affairs quite altered. 
 The confusion had ceased, and they presented every 
 appearance of a newly-hived swarm, some forming a 
 small cluster in the place where they had originally 
 swarmed (a beanstalk), and others moving calmly in 
 and out of the hive. Next morning I found the hive 
 empty and the cluster fully formed. Once more I 
 hived them, and they are now going on steadily with 
 every appearance of having a queen among them, 
 though I have not thought well again to disturb them 
 in search of her. Had she on escaping risen straight 
 up so as to surmount the roof and beech-hedge inter- 
 posed between her and the back garden, she would 
 have been about eighty yards from the swarm. She 
 took about an hour and a half to find them. But she 
 did find them at last. I shall not lengthen my already 
 too long communication by mentioning the several 
 interesting conclusions to which the facts point. I 
 am, Sir, &c., USHER B. MILES. 
 
 August 3, 1895.
 
 INSECTS AND REPTILES 215 
 
 VARIETY OF CHARACTER IN INSECTS. 
 
 SIR, For the chance of your caring to insert in the 
 Spectator my comment on a letter signed " C. J.," in 
 the Spectator of January ipth, I beg to say, as a 
 jealous observer of Nature from my boyhood, that 
 spiders and their marvellous ingenuity attracted my 
 attention in very early days. When a boy I watched 
 the process of the geometric species in forming their 
 webs, and waited till they had constructed them 
 before I ventured to feed their exhausted frames with 
 a fly. It is not in the power of man to do justice to 
 these insects, though we can learn something from 
 their precision. Words are powerless to describe it, 
 and certainly no human power can properly under- 
 stand it. Kirby and Spence, in their work on Ento- 
 mology, did a good deal to help one to entertain some 
 faint idea of what is in store for those who try to 
 appreciate insect creation to my regret I hear this 
 work is out of print. But referring to " C. J.'s " letter 
 above alluded to, I suggest that the tremor he 
 attributes to his spider, was due to a very different 
 cause than his august presence. It would be a 
 pleasure to me to go into details to narrate the
 
 2i6 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 particulars of the formation of the web, which is 
 mathematically planned, and every tissue of it 
 proceeds from the " anus " (I presume I may call 
 it) of the spider's body. Therefore any substance (if 
 it be but a midge) lighting on that tissue, by tele- 
 graphic communication as it were, affects the person 
 of the spider ; though, maybe, inclosed " in his little 
 parlour " far away. It is that which brings him out 
 of his seclusion ! and down he comes, not on his 
 victim (for I doubt whether his eyesight is of much 
 avail), but he can feel, and goes straight to the centre 
 of his web, fixes his eight claws each on the radii of 
 the web, gives each a good honest tug, and the victim 
 responds with a shrug, and straight Mr. Spider waits 
 upon him. This, I believe, is the tremor your friend 
 refers to. I am, Sir, &c., GEORGE MILLER. 
 
 January
 
 INSECTS AND REPTILES. 217 
 
 WEB-SHAKING BY SPIDERS. 
 
 SIR, May I suggest a doubt as to the interpretation 
 given by Mr. Veasey, as well as that given by your 
 correspondent of January ipth, of the curious web- 
 shaking of spiders? I have often provoked and 
 watched this shaking, and, as far as my experience 
 goes, I have never yet seen it as a response to the 
 action of real wind. The shaking seems to me only 
 performed when the spider fears or suspects an enemy, 
 and the aim of the spider I have always taken to be 
 to make itself less definitely visible to this supposed 
 enemy. The motion is so rapid that only a blurred 
 patch represents the spider's body to one's eye ; and 
 I believe the action to be entirely protective in origin, 
 with perhaps a dash of temper superadded. I am, 
 Sir, &c., E. H.
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 
 
 HORSES, COWS, AND DONKEYS. 
 A CLEVER DONKEY. 
 
 SIR, As I am sure your sympathies are not confined 
 to dogs, though at present they only have appeared 
 in your paper, I am going to ask you for a small 
 space for just one anecdote of my favourite animal 
 the donkey, an animal so universally snubbed and 
 looked down upon, that it seems almost a duty to 
 make public anything that tends to show he is by no 
 means so stupid as he is generally thought to be. 
 
 Biped friends of mine are at the seaside, and the 
 donkey I am anxious to see in print, because of the 
 credit he reflects on his race generally (intellectually, 
 if not morally), was engaged for an hour to take two 
 children up and down the parade, but when it came 
 to the turn of the second to mount, " Neddy " fell so 
 suddenly and distressingly lame, that the little girl 
 refused to have her ride, but the boy in charge of the
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 219 
 
 donkey assured those in charge of the children that 
 it was only a " trick " he had ; that he " disliked 
 going up and down the parade," and always " fell 
 lame " when required to do it ; and the truth of the 
 statement was tested by holding a crust to Neddy's 
 nose and running off with it in an opposite direction, 
 when Neddy cantered briskly after it, his lameness as 
 suddenly and easily put off as it had been put on. 
 Now, for a donkey, this was rather clever, if not quite 
 so interesting as the story of the dog that tried to 
 fill the void in its heart and its kennel by adopting 
 a young pigeon, or so clever as the dogs told of lately 
 in the Spectator, that went to the confectioner's with 
 the money in their mouths for their dinner, insisting, 
 too, upon having their money's worth a good dinner 
 when they had a whole penny, but expecting only 
 half the quantity when they were " hard-up," and only 
 took a halfpenny. And I was once so very subject 
 to sudden headaches and "pain in the side" when- 
 ever it was time to go to school, that I naturally 
 sympathise with Neddy's sudden lameness when 
 required to go up and down a parade ; and so many, 
 I fancy, must be able to sympathise with him for the 
 same reason, that surely he is deserving of a place 
 where perhaps no donkey on four legs has ever 
 appeared before. I am, Sir, &c., W. 
 
 May 19, 1877.
 
 220 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A CLEVER HORSE. 
 
 SIR, The method adopted by " Topsy " in opening 
 the door is not only simple, as mentioned by your 
 correspondent, but, I think, not uncommon. I have 
 seen dogs do the same thing, and once had a horse 
 who, on the top door of his loose-box being opened, 
 would not only undo with his mouth the latch of the 
 bottom part of the door, but would even draw the 
 bolt beneath it in order to get out. This horse lived 
 to be twenty-three years old. I have also seen a cat 
 turn the handle of the kitchen-door in order to gain 
 an entrance ; this he did by holding it between his 
 front paws, the handle of course being, like others 
 frequently used, extremely loose. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 A. H. D. 
 June 6, 1885.
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 221 
 
 A SOCIABLE HORSE. 
 
 SIR, The following story of equine 'cuteness may 
 interest your readers: A friend of mine, having 
 more horses than his normal amount of stabling 
 would accommodate, put up two of them in an old 
 hovel, temporarily divided into two compartments by 
 three bars of wood stretching from side to side. One 
 of these beasts, an iron-grey cob, was found every 
 morning in the same compartment as his fellow, and 
 for a long time the manner in which he got from his 
 own to his neighbour's stall remained a mystery. 
 One morning, however, he was found by the coach- 
 man, who happened to look into the hovel rather 
 earlier than usual, lying on his side under the lowest 
 of the three bars, with half his body on one side 
 and half on the other, vigorously " scratting himself 
 through," as the coachman expressed it. A few 
 shouts hastened his movements, and he quickly 
 worked himself clean through, and began calmly 
 munching by the side of his companion. I am, 
 Sir, &c., F. S. ARNOLD. 
 
 July 30, 1887.
 
 222 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A CLEVER COW. 
 
 SIR, The following, received from a correspondent 
 writing from Dieppe, is interesting in its way, and 
 bears upon the subject of your recent article, 
 "Animal Character." 
 
 "F. A. T." writes, under date October, 1888: 
 " I saw a very curious thing the other day. We 
 were walking in the country past a lot of large 
 orchards, and we noticed that the cows that were 
 feeding in them had their heads fastened down by 
 a kind of bearing-rein, so that they could graze but 
 could not raise their heads to eat the trees. While 
 we were looking, we noticed a cow go up to an apple- 
 tree and wedge-in the stem between her horns and 
 neck, and deliberately shake the tree and bring down 
 a shower of apples ; she and the others ate them up, 
 and then she went to another tree and shook that, 
 and so on. It was the funniest thing I ever saw : she 
 always chose young trees that would shake easily. I 
 pointed it out to a Frenchwoman standing near, and 
 she said she had often watched them, and thought 
 how clever the cow was. It was always the same 
 cow that did it, and she did it as systematically as a
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 223 
 
 schoolboy, never attempting to shake an old, stiff 
 tree." 
 
 There seems to be more reason in French cows than 
 in ours. A scientific gentleman wrote to a paper the 
 other day to say that blackbirds did not eat fruit 
 because they liked it, but because they were thirsty, 
 and recommended we should place pans of water on 
 the gravel walks and so save our garden fruit. A 
 cottager in Montgomeryshire being told of this inte- 
 resting fact, replied in the dialect of that part of the 
 country " Dern the bruts ; they cross the bruck to 
 come to my geerding." It would thus appear that 
 the character of animals varies with the country, and 
 that of blackbirds with the county. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 T. W. T. 
 
 October 13, 1888.
 
 224 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 WILD HORSES' COMMUNICATIONS WITH 
 EACH OTHER. 
 
 SIR, I have read with interest your articles on the 
 instinct of cattle. That cattle and horses can com- 
 municate intelligence to each other, and are endowed 
 with a certain amount of reasoning faculty, the 
 following facts are pretty conclusive proof. I once 
 purchased a station on which a large number of 
 cattle and horses had gone wild. To get the cattle 
 in, I fenced the permanent water (a distance of 
 twenty miles), leaving traps at intervals. At first 
 this answered all right, but soon the cattle became 
 exceedingly cautious about entering the traps, wait- 
 ing outside for two or three nights before going in, 
 and if they could smell a man or his tracks, not going 
 in at all. At last they adopted a plan which beat 
 me. A mob would come to the trap-gate, and one 
 would go in and drink, and come out ; and then 
 another would do the same, and so on, till all had 
 watered. They had evidently arrived at the conclu- 
 sion that I would not catch one and frighten all the 
 others away. 
 
 To get in the wild horses, six hundred of which
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 225 
 
 were running on a large plain (about twenty thousand 
 acres), I erected a stockyard, with a gradually widen- 
 ing lane, in a hollow where it could not easily be seen, 
 and by stationing horsemen at intervals on the plain, 
 galloped the wild horses in. My first hunt (which 
 lasted for some days) was successful, the wild horses 
 heading towards the mouth of the lane without much 
 difficulty ; but, of course, some escaped by charging 
 back at the stockyard gate, and in other ways. My 
 second hunt, about a month later, was a failure ; 
 every mob of horses on the plain seemed to know 
 where the yard was, and would not head that way. 
 This seems to show that the horses that escaped from 
 the first hunt told all the others where the stockyard 
 was. I am, Sir, &c., ANDREW J. OGILVIE. 
 
 December 19, 1891. 
 
 16
 
 226 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A CLEVER PONY. 
 
 SIR, A propos of your interesting article on the 
 " Animal Sense of Humour," in the Spectator of 
 October 1st, allow me to send you a case of grim 
 humour displayed a short time since by a pony 
 belonging to a friend. It had been pouring hard 
 all day, everything was soaking, and the poor pony 
 looked in vain for a dry spot to lie on. After 
 evidently deliberate thought, it went up to a cow 
 who had been lying in one place for a long while, 
 and gave her a most vicious kick ; this he repeated 
 several times, until at last she was compelled regret- 
 fully to rise, whereupon the pony promptly lay down 
 in the very spot occupied and kept dry by the cow. 
 I am, Sir, &c., B. F. J. 
 
 October 8, 1892.
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 227 
 
 SAGACITY OF THE HORSE. 
 
 SIR, An instance of the extraordinary sagacity and 
 fidelity of a horse may interest the readers of the 
 Spectator. The account appeared in the Pioneer of 
 India two or three months ago, and was reproduced 
 in the Royal Engineers' Journal on June 1st. I 
 quote from the latter paper : " With reference to 
 the murderous attack made upon Lieutenant Robert- 
 son, R.E., by a youthful Ghazi at Gulistan, it appears 
 that the former was out riding and was joined by the 
 Ghazi, who was also on horseback. Both entered 
 into friendly conversation, and shortly afterwards put 
 their horses to a trial of speed, in which Lieutenant 
 Robertson outstripped his rival, when the Ghazi 
 being a short distance behind, suddenly drew his 
 tulwar and inflicted a severe gash on Lieutenant 
 Robertson's neck, and otherwise wounding his hand, 
 which he had raised to ward off the Ghazi 's 
 attack. . . . It is stated that when Lieutenant 
 Robertson fell off his horse, and was lying on the 
 ground, bleeding profusely, the faithful animal pro- 
 tected his master from further injury by kicking at 
 the Ghazi and attempting to bite him. But for
 
 228 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 this remarkable behaviour on the part of Lieutenant 
 Robertson's horse, it is supposed that the Ghazi 
 would have probably hacked Lieutenant Robertson 
 to death." 
 
 I hear from a private correspondent that this 
 account is quite accurate, and also that two Indian 
 boys, hidden among trees close by, saw the attack 
 made on Mr. Robertson, and managed to stop a 
 passing train. The Ghazi at once rode off, but was 
 caught soon afterwards, identified, and sentenced to 
 be hanged. The wounded officer was put into the 
 train, and taken to the hospital at Quetta, where he 
 was recovering from the severe injuries he had re- 
 ceived. I am, Sir, &c., A. E. H, 
 
 July 9, 1892.
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 229 
 
 A SAGACIOUS HORSE. 
 
 SIR, While at Champery, in Switzerland, this last 
 summer, I saw a curious incident. A shepherd was 
 with his flock of sheep some way up the mountain- 
 side. Instead of a sheep-dog he had a horse which 
 acted in that capacity. The shepherd spoke to the 
 horse, who at once galloped off and brought in the 
 stray sheep. He then returned to his master for 
 further orders, which he carried out in most ex- 
 emplary fashion. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 R. H. BOMPAS. 
 February 9, 1895.
 
 230 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 ANIMAL VISION. 
 
 SIR, I am tempted by the letter which appears in 
 the Spectator of June 29th to think that others 
 besides myself are interested in the subject of 
 " Animal Colour- Vision," and therefore, though 
 rather late, to send you the following particulars : 
 About twenty-six years ago my father, who, though 
 already over seventy, still hunted a good deal in 
 Northamptonshire, took up there a little horse bred 
 by himself, who was a great pet of mine, and much 
 coveted by me as a hack. After one or two seasons 
 he returned to me, but I do not think I should have 
 got him had he not proved more excitable with 
 hounds than, at that time, suited my father. My 
 father has frequently told me that if he came down 
 in the morning in a dark coat, he could at least get 
 to the meet in peace, but if he wore a red one, 
 " Cuckoo " was always in a dance from the moment 
 they started. My father was used to horses all his 
 life, and a pretty good judge of what they could or 
 could not understand. I think he looked on this 
 instance of " knowingness " as worth telling, but not 
 as anything very wonderful. I live a good deal with
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 231 
 
 my dogs, but regret to say I have no like tales to tell 
 of them. What does strike me very much is the 
 very varying degrees in which individuals, even of 
 the same breed, are guided by scent or sight re- 
 spectively ; some, though they can see quite well, 
 seem to me hardly to look at all, while others evi- 
 dently notice things at a considerable distance, and 
 even high up in the air. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 HANGHER DOWN. 
 July 6, 1895.
 
 232 CA T AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 STORY OF A DONKEY. 
 
 SIR, As your readers seem interested in stories of 
 affection and fidelity in animals, I think it possible 
 you might consider the enclosed worthy of insertion 
 in your paper. The truth of the story is guaranteed 
 by several persons whose names are given, but not 
 for publication. 
 
 A donkey cast off by a costermonger as useless, 
 and in a miserable condition, was found by a young 
 gentleman, who brought it into his garden. Being 
 kindly treated, it by and by recovered itself and 
 became a great favourite. But the presence of so 
 large an animal in a garden became naturally very 
 inconvenient, and an aunt of the gentleman in ques- 
 tion, residing at Blackheath, offered the creature an 
 asylum in her field, and there it remained peaceful 
 and happy. By and by the compassionate lady 
 introduced a pony into the field, in much the same 
 condition as the donkey had once been. The two 
 became much attached to each other, and passed 
 their days in a state of blissful quietness probably 
 unknown before in their suffering and hard-working 
 lives. Not many weeks ago the donkey died, and
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 233 
 
 standing over him, in mute but eloquent grief, the 
 pony was seen licking the insensible remains of his 
 poor friend. He could not be induced to leave the 
 place, or take any food, and even after the body of 
 his beloved companion had been committed to the 
 earth, he was seen standing by and constantly pawing 
 the ground, as though entreating him to rise and bear 
 him company as of old. I am, Sir, &c., E. E. 
 
 October 19, 1895.
 
 234 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 MONKEYS. 
 THE MARMOSET MONKEY. 
 
 SIR, While I write a small marmoset monkey 
 length about six inches disports himself freely in 
 a sumach tree near to a sunny wall in our garden, 
 amusing himself with catching newly fledged moths, 
 small spiders, or any other specimens of the insect 
 tribe that may come in his way. This season these 
 are curiously few and far between, and he will, faute 
 de mieux, even eat earwigs, or, as Lord Tennyson's 
 North-country " Spinster " calls them, " battle-twigs." 
 Query, which is the more correct term of the two, or 
 the least incorrect ? 
 
 Seeing that Marmie finds nothing more of an edible 
 kind, I offer him a fresh-gathered pea-pod, and 
 he eagerly gnaws the end, inserts a tiny hand, and 
 helps himself to one pea after another, devouring it 
 with avidity, all but the skin, which he wisely rejects 
 as tough and indigestible. These little monkeys are 
 very nice in their food as particular as any epicure 
 in their choice of kind and condition. Everything 
 they take must be of the freshest and best. Only the
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 235 
 
 ripest and sweetest fruit, only the cream off the milk, 
 only the purest water, only live insects, will suit 
 Marmie. His infinite delight in being in the open 
 air is quite beyond description. He will climb up 
 or downstairs to get at me, in the hope of inducing 
 me to take him into the garden. If shut up in 
 his cage, he will cry like a child, with the same 
 object in view ; and to drive out in a carriage is as 
 great a pleasure to him as to any child. He will 
 look from the window all the time, and the little 
 head works this way and that, the bright eyes taking 
 in all the surroundings. Anything that attracts his 
 special notice a red parasol, a white horse, a bright- 
 coloured van, a child with a skipping-rope is greeted 
 with a vivacious " Chip, chip ! " and an upward look 
 for sympathy at each passing excitement. 
 
 There is, perhaps, no other garden in England 
 around the paths of which a little marmoset has 
 daily gambolled during the late warm summer 
 weather, finding its meals al fresco , in the shape of 
 small snails and slugs, spiders, caterpillars, and 
 beetles. He is very fond of the woodlouse, too 
 (" cheeselog," an old servant calls them), which is 
 fortunate, since it may be found in the absence of 
 all else. 
 
 One is usually taught to suppose that these little 
 delicate pets must be fed on bread-and-milk (which 
 they appear to hate, or at least only take when driven 
 to it by sheer hunger), and kept in close confinement 
 in a warm room, or a greenhouse at most. But 
 certainly where it is possible to let them enjoy the
 
 236 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 fresh open air in warm weather, with a natural diet 
 of insects, it apparently suits them, and gives them 
 a sense of enjoyment of life which is the nearest 
 approach to their happy existence in their native, 
 wild, beautiful woods of Brazil that we can give 
 them. I am, Sir, &c., BEATRICE BATTY. 
 
 July 17, 1886.
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 237 
 
 THE MARMOSET. 
 
 SIR, May I again, through the medium of your 
 widely-read paper, say a few words in favour of the 
 thousands of little helpless marmosets which are 
 annually taken from their tropical native land to 
 die in colder climates? 
 
 Having kept these beautiful little creatures through 
 several winters, and closely observed them, I have 
 come to the conclusion that one reason of the mor- 
 tality amongst them in their foreign surroundings 
 is that in the anxiety to keep them sufficiently warm, 
 they are kept too much without the fresh air to which 
 they have been used, and which they evidently delight 
 in and pine for. The one I now have had for two 
 winters is in perfect health and condition. This very 
 day he frisked round the garden in spite of frost on 
 the ground, chirruping in the sunshine. Throughout 
 this severe winter he has been out of doors on each 
 sunny day for a short time. Within doors the 
 temperature has been kept at about 60 or 62 for 
 him as far as possible, night and day. A gas-burner 
 left alight at night in a previously warmed room is 
 sufficient for this, and " Marmie " sleeps in a box-cage,
 
 238 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 furnished with plenty of cotton-wool and light flannel 
 wraps, as well as a small flannel-covered wool-mattress, 
 with which he entirely blocks the entrance to his nest 
 after he gets in for the night, thus effectually ex- 
 cluding all draughts. He accepts as his bedfellow, with 
 decided approbation, and generally kissing it and 
 whistling to it, a furry monkey-doll, which is his con- 
 stant plaything during the day, and which doubtless 
 helps to keep him warm. The other difficulty of 
 diet has been got over by supplying him with 
 common garden-snails which he requires to have 
 neatly and carefully cracked for him since other 
 insect food has been unattainable. He eats two or 
 three of these during the day, or, at least, portions of 
 them. It is the white muscle that he chiefly cares 
 for, the other parts being apparently less digestible. 
 With the addition of gum-arabic, prickly-pears, 
 bananas, angelica, and the juice of stewed apples, 
 together with fresh pure water and a little cream, he 
 has "eked out an existence." The quantity taken 
 of any food is infmitesimally small ; but he is well 
 and strong and active, intensely pretty and amusing, 
 and apparently happy and content ; although, could 
 he speak so as to be generally understood, he would 
 certainly explain that he prefers the season when 
 spiders and flies, beetles and grubs, and young green 
 peas and beans, are to be had in plenty, and when the 
 temperature within and without is that of a genial 
 summer heat. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 BEATRICE BATTY. 
 February 26, 1887.
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 239 
 
 THE LANGUAGE OF THE MARMOSET. 
 
 SIR, Some attention has been aroused by the recent 
 attempt to reproduce monkey-talk by means of the 
 phonograph. It is perhaps not generally known that 
 in a little book, published nearly a hundred years ago, 
 at the sign (strangely enough) of the Tour de Babel, 
 on the Quai Voltaire, Paris, a French writer made an 
 endeavour to reduce the chatter of the tiny marmoset 
 to articulate translatable language. The whistle, or 
 ouistiti, from which this little creature has its French 
 name, he describes truly as a long, sharp, piercing 
 sound, repeated two or three times, signifying the 
 want of something or some one. I would add to 
 this, that it is evidently the call used by one to the 
 other. A very young one that I had always cried 
 "Ouistititi, ouistitititi," to the older one for help, if 
 it thought itself in danger. " Ghriii," a long-drawn 
 high tone, he translates into " come." All those that 
 I have possessed have thus called me to come to 
 them. " Guenakiki " expresses, he says, terrible fear ; 
 " Trouakki," violent, despairing grief ; " Trouagno," 
 intense pain, "save me." One that had broken its 
 leg thus warned me of it. " Krrrreoeoeo," often re-
 
 240 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 peated, means very happy indeed ; " Keh," a little 
 better ; " Korrie," annoyed, disturbed ; " Ococo," deep 
 terror ; " Anic," feebly and melodiously uttered, 
 means help ! protect ! " Quih," " I want something 
 very much " ; " Quoueee," despair of escaping some 
 danger this sound I have often heard all my mar- 
 mosets make at the sight of anything strange to them, 
 or which reminded them of some known danger. 
 
 The above, and other expressions, fanciful as they 
 may appear to some, yet have a clear meaning to 
 those who, like Pierquin de Gembloux, are accus- 
 tomed to watch and observe " dumb " animals closely, 
 and who, as the present writer feels, can thus arrive 
 at understanding even their mute appeals for help, 
 sympathy, companionship, or kindness. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 BEATRICE BATTY. 
 
 April 23, 1892.
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 241 
 
 THE MARMOSET. 
 
 SIR, Those who have followed with any degree of 
 interest my suggestions and experiences in the matter 
 of feeding the marmoset, so often dying of decline in 
 this country from the lack of suitable nourishment 
 rather than from cold, may be glad to know that they 
 will relish oysters at least so I find to be the case 
 with the one which I have had for some seven and a 
 half years, and which continues in good health, in 
 spite of the severity of the season. The frost renders 
 the procuring of snails difficult ; and the obtaining of 
 any variety in the way of insect diet is in winter 
 almost impossible. My pet, " Marmie," will eat the 
 left half of an oyster at luncheon-time with evident 
 enjoyment ; and with his tongue and tiny teeth will 
 tear morsels from a pheasant bone after the manner 
 of a cat Live shrimps are not to be had from the 
 fishmongers. They will not bear transportation. 
 But where they can be had on the coast, the mar- 
 moset need not want a change of food. " Marmie " 
 likes nothing better, when he can get them. During 
 the cold weather a gas-burner is left alight in the 
 room in which he sleeps ; and although the tempera- 
 
 17
 
 242 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 ture has been as low as 50, he does not seem to 
 suffer, probably because he is carefully fed and well 
 wrapped up. He prefers his sugar-water with the 
 chill off, and he has a warm bed of flannel and 
 cotton-wool, with an extra blanket, all aired at the 
 fire night and morning, and a green-baize cover to 
 his cage. 
 
 Hoping that my letter, if you are so good as to 
 publish it, may help to give some little marmosets a 
 happy New Year, and wishing you the same. I am, 
 Sir, &c., BEATRICE BATTY. 
 
 January 14, 1893.
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 243 
 
 ELEPHANTS. 
 A TRICKY ELEPHANT. 
 
 SIR, As an instance of the sagacity of the elephant, 
 the following anecdote may be of interest. It was 
 told me by Mr. Quay, at the time a non-commis- 
 sioned officer in the ist Battalion of the 6oth Rifles, 
 but now one of her Majesty's Yeomen of the Guard. 
 
 In 1853 his regiment was marching from Peshawur 
 to Kopulvie, and was accompanied by a train of 
 elephants. It was the duty of the mahout in charge 
 of each elephant to prepare twenty chupatties, or flat 
 cakes made of coarse flour, for his charge. When the 
 chupatties were ready, they were placed before the 
 elephant, who, during the process of counting, never 
 attempted to touch one of them until the full number 
 was completed. On the occasion related by Mr. 
 Quay, one of the elephants had seized the oppor- 
 tunity of his mahout's attention being distracted for 
 a moment, to steal and swallow one of the chupatties. 
 When the mahout, having finished the preparation, 
 began to count them out, he of course discovered the 
 theft, and presented his charge with nineteen, in place
 
 244 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 of the usual number. The elephant instantly appre- 
 ciated the fact of their being one less than he had a 
 right to expect, and refused to touch them, expressing 
 his indignation by loud trumpetings. This brought 
 the conductor of the elephant line (with whom Mr. 
 Quay had been in conversation) on the scene. Hav- 
 ng heard the explanation of the mahout, the con- 
 ductor decided that the mahout was in fault for not 
 keeping a better look-out, and ordered him to pro- 
 vide the twentieth cake at his own cost. When this 
 was prepared and added to the pile, the elephant at 
 once accepted and ate them. 
 
 It is incredible that an elephant, sagacious as he is, 
 should be able to count up to twenty. At the same 
 time, it is difficult to find any other explanation, 
 except one which would imply the possession of a 
 still higher degree of intelligence, namely, the con- 
 sciousness of his own delinquency, and an expectation 
 (justified by the result) of what would follow when he 
 called the conductor's attention by trumpeting. I 
 am, Sir, &c., ARTHUR CLAY. 
 
 March 7, 1891.
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 245 
 
 THE ELEPHANT'S SAGACITY. 
 
 SIR, Some time ago some interesting stories were 
 told by your correspondents of the display of intelli- 
 gence by animals. I doubt whether any of these 
 showed greater evidence of reasoning power than was 
 lately exhibited by a young elephant at Belle, the 
 gardens in this city. My son for some weeks visited 
 the gardens daily, sketching the animals, &c. 
 Amongst these is a young " baby " African elephant, 
 decidedly vicious in temper. There are also two or 
 more full-grown elephants. Near their stalls are 
 boxes containing biscuits. When a penny is given 
 to one of the animals, it puts the coin into a slot, and 
 as it falls it releases a biscuit, which the elephant 
 takes with evident satisfaction. Some of the visitors, 
 however, occasionally give the animals a halfpenny, 
 and as experience has taught them that this coin is 
 of no value for the purpose of obtaining biscuits, it is 
 generally thrown contemptuously back to the giver. 
 One day, while my son was present, a visitor gave the 
 " baby " elephant a number of halfpennies in succes- 
 sion, each of which was thrown at him again as soon 
 as received. The visitor then gave the animal two
 
 246 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 halfpennies at the same time. His demeanour im- 
 mediately changed. For more than five minutes he 
 held the two coins in his trunk, rubbing them to- 
 gether, and now rocking from side to side, and pre- 
 sently seeming to be pondering deeply while perfectly 
 still. At last he dropped the two halfpence in the 
 box together, with the result that their combined 
 weight gave him the desired biscuit. The joy of the 
 creature was almost ludicrous. His big ears were 
 expanded, and he gambolled about in a manner which 
 exhibited the most extravagant delight. It would 
 seem that he had come to the conclusion that the 
 combined weight of the two coins would produce the 
 desired result. For, even yet, I believe that he has 
 not learnt to hold one halfpenny in reserve until he 
 gets another. In other words, he has not learnt to 
 count. It is only when two are given to him at one 
 time that he appreciates the value of the offering. I 
 am, Sir, &c., GEO. FREEMANTLE. 
 
 November 26, 1 892.
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 247 
 
 INFLUENCE OF MUSIC ON 
 ANIMALS. 
 
 MUSIC AND ANIMALS. 
 
 SIR, The German tale of a fiddler pursued by wolves 
 alluded to in " Orpheus at the Zoo," in the Spectator 
 of October loth, is the subject of a ballad by Gustav 
 Hartwig, a translation of which, " The Last String," is 
 contained in Sir Theodore Martin's " The Song of the 
 Bell, and other Translations." The fiddler, however, 
 according to the German legend, is not, as recorded in 
 " Orpheus at the Zoo," saved by the accidental break- 
 ing of a string, by afterwards playing continuously, 
 but immediately on finding himself surrounded by 
 wolves, 
 
 " He pulls himself up ; in his trembling hand 
 The bow across the strings is spanned, 
 And they moan, and they groan, and they wail and sing, 
 ' Is there no one, no one, that help will bring ? ' " 
 
 I am, Sir, &c., GUSTAV HIRSCH. 
 
 October 17, 1891.
 
 248 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 MUSIC AND ANIMALS. 
 
 SIR, The extremely interesting articles on " Orpheus 
 at the Zoo," which have lately appeared in the 
 Spectator, have suggested to me that possibly you 
 might care for an anecdote which goes to prove that 
 horses can distinguish tunes. 
 
 A relation of mine, who has spent many years in 
 India, remembers well how, when living in Lucknow, 
 and enjoying the evening drive, with other English 
 residents in the Indian city, the carriage-horses would 
 toss their heads and paw the ground impatiently 
 when the first notes of " God Save the Queen " were 
 played by the military band every evening. It was 
 the last tune played, the signal for dispersion. A 
 sceptic or perhaps more than one having insisted 
 that the horses only knew the tune because it was 
 always played last, and they were able to calculate 
 time, the experiment was tried of playing " God Save 
 the Queen " in the middle, instead of at the end of 
 the evening. Instantly there was the same excite- 
 ment in the horses standing round " the course," the 
 same impatient tossing of the head and prancing of
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 249 
 
 the feet, the same general stampede and eagerness to 
 start homeward. No one could any longer doubt that 
 they knew and recognised the air ; in fact that they 
 could tell one tune from another. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 F. S. H. 
 
 October 17, 1891.
 
 250 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 MUSIC AND ITS EFFECT ON ANIMALS. 
 
 SIR, To prove that horses can distinguish tunes, let 
 me relate an anecdote given to me by Harley the 
 comedian. He was walking down the Strand with a 
 brother-actor, who saw in a cab a parti-coloured horse 
 which he thought had belonged to Astley's Circus. 
 They went up to him and patted him, at the same 
 time humming a tune familiar at the Circus. At 
 once the animal began to dance on his fore-legs, as 
 had been his custom for many years. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 B. S. 
 October 24, 1891.
 
 OTHER BEASTS. 251 
 
 MUSIC AND ITS INFLUENCE ON 
 ANIMALS. 
 
 SIR, John Wesley once tried the effect of music 
 upon animals, and records the result of his experi- 
 ment in his " Journals," under date Monday, December 
 31, 1764: "I thought it would be worth while to 
 make an odd experiment. Remembering how sur- 
 prisingly fond of music the lion at Edinburgh was, I 
 determined to try whether this was the case with all 
 animals of the same kind. I accordingly went to the 
 Tower with one who plays on the German flute. He 
 began playing near four or five lions ; only one of 
 these (the rest not seeming to regard it at all) rose up, 
 came to the front of his den, and seemed to be all 
 attention. Meantime a tiger in the same den started 
 up, leaped over the lion's back, turned and ran under 
 his belly, leaped over him again, and so to and fro 
 incessantly. Can we account for this by any principle 
 of mechanism ? Can we account for it at all ? " 
 
 There is not, so far as I am aware, any entry in the 
 " Journals " in reference to the Edinburgh lion. Mr. 
 Wesley may, of course, simply have heard or read of 
 this. I am, Sir, &c., H. J. F. 
 
 November 7, 1891.
 
 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. 
 
 SIR, Reading Mr. Carlill's article on " Are Animals 
 Mentally Happy ? " in this month's Nineteenth Century, 
 reminded me of an incident I witnessed in the early 
 summer of 1881 or 1882. Walking one evening in 
 the garden with a friend with whom I was staying in 
 Kent, we heard a great noise amongst the sheep in 
 the park. Fearing a dog was worrying them, we went 
 to see, and saw the sheep collected against the garden 
 wall, and then start off and race, helter-skelter, as fast 
 as they could, to a tree a little distance away ; round 
 it, and then back again each trying which could be 
 foremost. They then collected, and started off again 
 as before. This they repeated twelve or twenty times, 
 whilst we watched them ; until, seeming tired of their 
 play, they straggled off. This appears to me decidedly 
 a mental act of happiness. The sheep were distinctly 
 at play, and enjoying themselves ; whilst the concerted 
 action, instead of merely singly racing about for
 
 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. 253 
 
 physical exercise, showed that their minds were as 
 actively engaged as their bodies. 
 
 I can send you the name and address of the lady 
 who witnessed this with me, if you wish for corrobora- 
 tion. She will no doubt remember the circumstance, 
 as she was much amused, and said, " We had no need 
 to go to the races [it was the day of the Derby for 
 that year], because we have had races of our own at 
 home." I am, Sir, &c., H. R. 
 
 June n, 1887.
 
 254 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A WORD IN DEFENCE OF SHEEP. 
 
 SIR, A writer in the current number of the Cornhill 
 Magazine affirms that " there is no stupider animal in 
 all creation " than a sheep ; and in a short paper he 
 gives various facts that have come under his notice as 
 a " sheep-herder " in Australia, to support the assertion. 
 Now, as one whose youth was spent in a sheep 
 district of Scotland, my experience leads to a very 
 different conclusion. In the extensive moors in 
 Dumfriesshire and the South of Lanarkshire, it is 
 quite common for the sheep to pen themselves, leav- 
 ing the hill-pastures in the evening for some walled 
 field in the low-lying grounds, which they enter by 
 apertures left for them in the " dyke ; " and again in 
 the morning they return to the hills, showing remark- 
 able sagacity with respect to the times and everything 
 else connected with their movements. It is a common 
 thing for the cottagers to have pet lambs, which have 
 been given them when the ewes have died, or been 
 too weak to bring up twins. As these pets grow up, 
 nothing could exceed the affection which they manifest 
 for those who tend them, while their intelligence is 
 scarcely inferior to that of a dog.
 
 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. 255 
 
 Every one knows the celebrated picture of " The 
 Pet Lamb," where a butcher's boy is depicted as lead- 
 ing away from the children of a widow their beloved 
 playmate. The wonderful pathos of the picture 
 depends not more on the attachment of the children 
 for the lamb, than on the sagacious animal's reluctance 
 to leave them. The artist who painted that picture 
 Constable, I think had not found sheep to be 
 " semi-idiotic." 
 
 The eyes of the gazelle have been thought so beau- 
 tiful, that too often the loveliest human eyes have been 
 likened to them. Now, the eyes of the gazelle and 
 the eyes of some sheep are scarcely distinguishable ; 
 and what the Australian sheep-herder has termed an 
 idiotic and " wild-eyed " look, some close observers 
 have thought to be an expression of infinite tenderness 
 and pathos. The conditions under which the sheep- 
 herder arrived at his conclusions do not seem to me 
 to have been favourable to the true discernment of 
 the animal's nature. "Fiery gallops" among flocks 
 numbering "tens of thousands" are not, I think, 
 the best means of judging the intelligence of a timid 
 animal. There are some intelligent women and men 
 who, if driven by horses at full gallop, and hounded 
 by savage dogs, might behave in an unreasoning 
 manner. If I said tigers or lions instead of dogs, the 
 similitude would be more perfect, as to the sheep a 
 dog is a wolf. 
 
 That the Scotch shepherd an unusually shrewd 
 observer is of the same opinion as myself regarding 
 his charges, the following anecdote, taken from a
 
 256 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 recently published book, will prove. Lord Neaves 
 was fishing near St. Mary's Loch, and having come 
 across a shepherd, entered into conversation. The 
 sheep on the hill-side through prescience of a coming 
 storm were huddled together on a bare piece of 
 ground. " If I was one of those sheep," said Lord 
 Neaves, " I would go where the grass was longer." 
 " Eh, mon ! " was the reply ; " but if ye were a sheep, 
 ye wad hae mair sense." I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 J. CRAWFORD SCOTT. 
 December 15, 1888.
 
 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. 257 
 
 HYPNOTISM IN ANIMALS 
 
 SIR, Within the last month I have made an interest- 
 ing experiment with a fowl. Some choice eggs being 
 sent me for hatching purposes (having no hen at that 
 time broody and no incubator) I determined to set 
 one of my hens on these eggs and keep her there by 
 the force of mesmeric power. The eggs were not fresh 
 when I received them, and to keep them with the 
 uncertain hope of a hen becoming broody might have 
 been fatal to their hatching, I therefore went against 
 nature and sat my hen upon these eggs ; she was in 
 full lay at the time, and remained so throughout the 
 three weeks that she was sitting, laying, according to 
 her wont, two out of three days. Those who under- 
 stand poultry will appreciate that no hen will do this, 
 having become naturally broody, although for the first 
 day or two after being set on eggs I have had hens lay 
 once, or even twice. Marking the eggs I set her upon 
 I was able to know and withdraw the eggs she kept 
 laying. The first day I placed her on the eggs it took 
 me half an hour to bring her into a hypnotic condition, 
 but each successive day, after having roused her to 
 drink and eat, I was able to soothe her to drowsy 
 
 18
 
 258 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 placidity in much less time ; also there were days, for 
 which I can give no reason, when I had to go to her 
 more than once in the day, she being in a restless, 
 excited state, trying to get off the nest. The result 
 has been, much to my own astonishment, that four out 
 of seven of these eggs have hatched, and are healthy, 
 happy little chickens. At night I can still influence 
 their mother to her maternal duties, but in the daytime 
 she takes no notice of them. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 E. T. CHAPLIN. 
 June 7, 1890.
 
 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. 259 
 
 ANIMALS' TOILETTES. 
 
 SIR, In the interesting paper on this subject which 
 appeared in your columns on September 2/th, it is 
 well shown that, among other animals, man can claim 
 no monopoly of personal cleanliness ; but no allusion 
 is made to one cosmetic operation which is generally 
 supposed to be exclusively human namely, shaving. 
 It has been discovered that even in this he is not 
 original. There is a pretty South American bird, the 
 Motmot (Motmotus braziliensis\ which actually begins 
 shaving on arriving at maturity. Naturally adorned 
 with long blue tail-feathers, it is not satisfied with them 
 in their natural state, but with its beak nips off the 
 web on each side for a space of about two inches, 
 leaving a neat little oval tuft at the end of each. 
 Specimens of this bird may be seen at the Natural 
 History Museum at South Kensington, and a full 
 account of it may be found in the Journal of the 
 London Zoological Society for 1873. I am, Sir, &c. 
 
 HERBERT MAXWELL. 
 October n, 1890.
 
 260 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 THE GUINEA-PIG. 
 
 SIR, I have read with some surprise, in the number 
 of the Spectator dated October i8th, the statement 
 that a guinea-pig is incapable of affection. Some 
 years since I had a guinea-pig who would come 
 whenever I called him, who would follow me like a 
 dog even along the streets, and who never seemed 
 happy out of my sight. When I sat down to read, 
 this little creature would come and scratch at my 
 shoes or trousers to coax me to take him up and 
 nurse him. He would sit on his hind legs and hold 
 a book for me to read, and if placed in a corner, would 
 sit in this position for an hour at a time, and seemed 
 to delight in it. After having him several years, 
 I was seized with a severe attack of congestion of the 
 lungs, which confined me to my bed for upwards of a 
 month ; just as I was getting over this, my friends told 
 me that my guinea-pig had been ill for some time, 
 and that he refused to eat anything, but that they did 
 not like to mention it to me before. I at once had 
 him brought to me ; he was miserably thin, and could 
 scarcely walk, but he at once took food from my hands,
 
 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. 261 
 
 no matter what I offered him. After some little time, 
 scarcely an hour, I think, he gave two or three little 
 gasps, turned over on his side, and died in my lap. 
 I am, Sir, &c., JOHN BROWNING. 
 
 November 8, 1890.
 
 262 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 MUSIC AND ANIMALS. 
 
 SIR, I venture to give expression to a hope that 
 your " Orpheus " will make public some more results 
 of his interesting musical experiments upon the in- 
 habitants of the Zoo. His recent articles in the 
 Spectator open up the important subject of the vary- 
 ing musical tastes possessed by different men and 
 beasts. Dr. Seemann, quoted by Darwin, states that 
 " by travelling eastwards we find that there is certainly 
 a different language of music. Songs of joy and 
 dance-accompaniments are no longer, as with us, in 
 the major keys, but always in the minor." Nor will 
 it be denied, I think, that even in Western Europe, 
 as late as the sixteenth century, minor keys were far 
 more prevalent in joyful music, such as carols and 
 dances, than they are at the present day. I know 
 of several musical people who show a decided prefer- 
 ence for minor over major. Is this a case of reversion 
 to an earlier type ? " Orpheus " could throw impor- 
 tant light on the relative efficacy of the two modes 
 with musical beasts such, for instance, as seals are 
 if hunters speak truly.
 
 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. 263 
 
 It is also most desirable that the effects of brass, 
 wood, wind, and instruments of percussion should 
 be systematically tried in the Zoo; and perhaps some 
 enterprising exhibitor of savage musicians will some 
 day carry these experiments still further. Only by 
 these means shall we discover whether the notions 
 of beauty in music undoubtedly possessed by many 
 beasts are more nearly allied to those of civilised or 
 of barbarous nations. I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 E. C. MARCHANT. 
 
 October 17, 1891.
 
 264 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A TAME HARE. 
 
 SIR, In your interesting article on " Possible Pets," 
 in the Spectator of January 2nd, I see you ask : Who, 
 since the days of Cowper, has seen a tame hare? 
 Will you allow me to tell you of one in a country- 
 house in the West of Ireland, whose acquaintance 
 I made last summer ? The little creature was brought 
 in by the mowers during hay-harvest, very young, 
 very frightened, and wounded. A scythe had acci- 
 dentally cut off one of his ears as he lay hidden in 
 the long grass. By the time the wound was healed 
 he had become tame, and when I saw him he was 
 quite at home in his new surroundings as an indoor 
 pet. He was most caressing and affectionate, and 
 would nestle in your arms, or climb up and sit on 
 your shoulder. He had the run of the large drawing- 
 room, a tiny ball of brown fur, with one long ear and 
 a pair of bright eyes. He ran noiselessly about over 
 carpets and rugs, and in the dusk of the late summer 
 evenings it was often difficult to find him. The Irish 
 terrier, however, never failed to do so. My hostess 
 would say, "'Judy,' find 'Coco,'" and in a few minutes 
 the truant's hiding-place was discovered. "Judy*
 
 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. 265 
 
 never hurt him, and he never seemed afraid of the 
 dog. My hostess allowed him to run about on the 
 lawn, at first with many fears lest he should escape 
 and desert his friends, but " Coco " never seemed in 
 the least anxious to do so ; he would run on a few 
 steps in front of her and stop to nibble the grass, and 
 allow her to catch him again as soon as she thought 
 he had had enough air and exercise. He was too 
 young to judge of his intelligence, but even in his 
 babyhood he was a delightful pet, and I have no 
 doubt by this time he is a hare of many accomplish- 
 ments, as three months ago he was "the hare with 
 many friends." I am, Sir, &c., M. F. B. 
 
 January 23, 1892.
 
 266 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 A TAME HARE. 
 
 SIR, You may possibly be interested in knowing 
 that a tame hare is a constant drawing-room com- 
 panion of certain friends of mine who are living near 
 here (London, W.). 
 
 At tea-time " Monk " is entertained with bread- 
 and-milk, but his usual food consists of oats, and he 
 has a special delight in dandelions. His playfellow 
 is a large collie-dog, who is frequently reminded by 
 some sharp " taps " of the paw, that the " manners " 
 of the drawing-room are not to be those of the field. 
 His musical sense seems wonderfully developed ; for 
 with the pianoforte-playing of some he seems pleased, 
 while with that of others he always shows himself, in 
 scampering about the room, quite the reverse. I am, 
 Sir, &c., S. 
 
 February 6, 1892.
 
 MISCELLAN OUS STORIES. 267 
 
 HUMOROUS APES. 
 
 , i 
 
 SIR, If you care to have your good stories of the 
 humour of animals capped, here are two or three 
 more. I remember, in a description of India or 
 Ceylon some forty years ago, a story of an English- 
 man who had a monkey. Looking out of his window 
 one day, he saw his cook getting a fowl ready for 
 boiling, while the monkey lay on the ground sham- 
 ming death, and a party of crows stood at a little 
 distance, divided between the desire for the kitchen 
 ofFal, and the fear of the possibly shamming monkey. 
 One crow, more adventurous than the rest, came 
 within the magic distance, and was instantly in the 
 clutch of the monkey. At the same moment, the 
 cook, having finished trussing the fowl, put it into the 
 pot and went away. The monkey plucked his crow 
 as he had just seen the cook pluck the fowl, took the 
 fowl out of the pot, put the crow in, and retired with 
 his exchange. When the cook came back, and saw 
 the fowl left preparing for his master's luncheon turned 
 black, he was, as may be supposed, struck mad with 
 terror at this manifest intervention of the Evil One. 
 Another story, some forty or fifty years earlier, is
 
 268 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 of a monkey which my uncle brought to London from 
 India. On one occasion he was seen playing with 
 the ink, perhaps writing a letter, in his master's bed- 
 room. He upset the ink, and thereupon he went to 
 the chest of drawers, opened a drawer, took out a 
 shirt, and wiped up the ink with it. On another day 
 he was sitting in my grandmother's drawing-room (it 
 was in Hill Street), when another lady came in and sat 
 down. The monkey, after watching her for some time 
 from the back of the chair on which he was perched, 
 snatched the visitor's bonnet from her head, put it on 
 his own, and defied all attempts to catch him and 
 rescue the bonnet. At last, the window being open, 
 he leapt out upon the lamp-post, and there sat, sharing 
 the delight of the passers-by, looking as Blucher must 
 have looked when, years after, he appeared on the 
 field of Waterloo in an old lady's bonnet. 
 
 In these instances the love of mischievous, prac- 
 tical joking is manifest : it is probable, if not so cer- 
 tain, in a story of an eminent naturalist (I forget his 
 name) who was hoping to develop the intelligence of 
 a monkey to whose education he was devoting him- 
 self. One day he saw with delight that the monkey 
 was sitting at the other end of the room, turning over 
 the leaves of a valuable book on entomology and 
 looking at the plates with apparent interest. But on 
 going nearer, he saw, with dismay, that the monkey 
 was turning over the plates in order that, when he 
 came to a particularly large beetle or butterfly, he 
 might pick it out and eat it. As the paper could not 
 have had a nice taste, I think he may have been
 
 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. 269 
 
 actuated rather by the fun of the thing than by a mere 
 depraved appetite. Perhaps he was verifying the like 
 method of learning among the philosophers of Laputa. 
 But this I leave to the judicious consideration of your- 
 self and your readers. I am, Sir, &c., E. S. 
 
 October 8, 1892.
 
 270 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 THE BEAVERS AT THE ZOO. 
 
 SIR, In yo.ur review of the book on beavers, in the 
 Spectator of January 28th, I think you are unfairly 
 severe on the want of intelligence in the performances 
 of the beavers at the Zoo. Perhaps your reviewer 
 has never had to do his work in a building with a 
 corrugated iron roof. My work is done under that 
 mean and ineffectual substitute for thatch, and summer 
 suns and winter frosts make one feel the beavers' 
 great wisdom in recognising the insufficiency of the 
 covering provided for them. 
 
 Had I a suitable supply of mud, and had I a flat 
 tail, together with that so seldom-achieved though so 
 often-desired " combination of industry and leisure," 
 I too would strive after greater perfection in building, 
 and my roof too would then be, like the savages, 
 " neatly though inexpensively clothed in mud." I 
 am, Sir, &c., H. S. 
 
 February n, 1893.
 
 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. 271 
 
 THE SAGACITY OF BEARS. 
 
 SIR, I was interested to observe in the IZoological 
 Gardens at Hanley this summer the faculty which 
 bears possess of putting two and two together. If a 
 biscuit is thrown into the bath in their den, they will, 
 in order to avoid getting wet, go round to the further 
 side of the bath and paddle with their feet in the 
 water till they have caused the biscuit to float across 
 the bath to the edge where it can easily be reached 
 by them. One wonders how they first learnt this. I 
 am, Sir, &c., C. W. H. KENRICK. 
 
 November 9, 1895.
 
 272 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 ANIMAL STORIES. 
 
 SIR, Having read in your paper many curious 
 stories illustrating the instincts of dogs and cats, it 
 seems to me that the following, relating to sheep and 
 ducks, may prove interesting. Many years ago I had 
 a conversation with Mr. Hassall, who was the first 
 settler in King George's Sound, on the difficulties he 
 encountered in establishing a flock of sheep there. 
 He started operations, assisted only by convicts who 
 acted as shepherds. He told me that many of his 
 imported sheep died from eating poisonous herbs or 
 shrubs, but this was not the case with native-born 
 animals, and that he did not know of a single death 
 from poison of any sheep bred in the country. I am, 
 Sir, &c., W. H. CHALLIS. 
 
 November 30, 1895.
 
 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. 273 
 
 THE SAGACITY OF BEARS. 
 
 SIR, Referring to your correspondent's letter, in 
 the Spectator of November pth, noticing the faculty 
 which bears possess of putting two and two together, 
 I wonder whether any of your readers have observed 
 the same thing with regard to some of the elephants 
 in the Zoological Gardens in London. For when a 
 child, in throwing a biscuit to the elephant, dropped 
 it between the cage and the barrier, and out of reach 
 of the child or the elephant, the latter blew the biscuit 
 with its trunk till the child could reach it, and again 
 attempt to throw it into the elephant's mouth. This 
 happened not once, but several times. Not that ele- 
 phants have perfect reasoning powers, as the sequel 
 to this story will show. After the small child had 
 made many vain attempts to throw the biscuit far 
 enough, a good-natured lad standing near thought he 
 would help, so he took the biscuit from the child. 
 This displeased the elephant, who thereupon dealt the 
 lad a severe blow on the arm, causing him a good deal 
 of pain. I am, Sir, &c., A. MOSSOP. . 
 
 November 30, 1895.
 
 274 CAT AND BIRD STORIES. 
 
 RECENT RAT-LORE. 
 
 SIR, In your article in the Spectator of November 
 pth, under the above heading, you remark that rats 
 transporting eggs on level ground, were observed by 
 Mr. Battye to roll them " in front of them with their 
 chests." A deceased acquaintance of mine, who had 
 a tame white rat, told me that he once saw it carrying 
 off an egg in the following fashion. The egg was 
 supported underneath by a front paw, being pierced 
 and steadied by the upper incisors, and was thus 
 carried safely forward by the rat on its three dis- 
 engaged feet. I am, Sir, &c., H. J. BuSHBY. 
 
 November 30, 1895.
 
 MISCELLANEOUS STORIES. 275 
 
 RATS. 
 
 SIR, A propos of your interesting article on " Re- 
 cent Rat-lore," in the Spectator of November pth, the 
 incidents named from Mr. H. C. Barkley's graphic 
 " Studies on Rat-catching," suggest my writing to 
 narrate a clever exploit of a retriever dog belonging 
 to the housekeeper of a well-known newspaper office 
 in the Strand. Rats are constantly caught on the 
 premises, and the dog, fully aware of their habits, 
 evinces such ability that his intelligence is quite 
 worthy of record. Last Sunday he was heard barking 
 loudly, calling for assistance, in the compositors' room, 
 where there is a rat-hole in the floor. The dog had 
 watched two fine rats come up through their hole, 
 and immediately they were fairly away from their 
 point of entry he rushed up and sat on the hole to 
 cut off their means of retreat, barking forthwith for 
 help. Nothing would induce him to budge till a 
 board was brought and placed over the hole, when 
 he started in pursuit, and soon despatched the in- 
 truders. His master assures me that the dog origi- 
 nated this ingenious method of procedure, and that 
 he has practised it with like success on several other 
 occasions. I am, Sir, &c., MAURICE B. ADAMS. 
 
 November, 30, 1895.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ABOUT "Dor," 14 
 
 Esthetic birds, 151 
 
 Esthetics, Animal, 152 
 
 Affection of birds, 133 
 
 Animal aesthetics, 152 
 
 Animal character, Interpreta- 
 tion of, 197 
 
 Animal etiquette, 209 
 
 Animal stories, 272 
 
 Animal vision, 230 
 
 Animals, Hypnotism in, 257 
 
 Animals, Influence of music 
 on, 247 
 
 Animals, Music and, 247, 248, 
 262 
 
 Animals, Music and its effect 
 on, 250 
 
 Animals, Music and its influ- 
 ence on, 251 
 
 Animals' toilettes, 259 
 
 Apes, Humorous, 267 
 
 Apology for the cat, An, 40 
 
 Architecture, Tomtit, 121 
 
 Are animals mentally happy ? 
 252 
 
 Automaton, Authentic anec- 
 dote of, i 
 
 Automaton, Another, 4 
 
 BACK DOOR, How Topsy 
 
 opened the, 22 
 Barnyard, A, incident, 158 
 Bears, Sagacity of, 271, 273 
 Beavers at the Zoo, 270 
 Bee, Queen, Sagacity of a, 213 
 Bees, Intelligence of, 195 
 Bird and cat catastrophe, A, 47 
 Bird intelligence, 122 
 
 Bird language, 137 
 
 Bird story, A, 183, 185, 186, 
 190, 193 
 
 Bird story, A Swiss, 188 
 
 Bird, The canary, 105 
 
 Birds, 50 
 
 Birds and pictures, 101 
 
 Birds and their supposed 
 power of counting, 129 
 
 Birds in fog, 169 
 
 Birds in London, 176, 177 
 
 Birds, Esthetic, 151 
 
 Birds, Courtesy and dis- 
 courtesy in, 142 
 
 Birds, Courtesy in, 146 
 
 Birds, Discourtesy in, 150 
 
 Birds, Fidelity in, 131 
 
 Birds, Language of, 139, 140 
 
 Birds, Memory of, 135, 136 
 
 Birds, Men and, 154 
 
 Birds, Reasoning faculty in, 
 122 
 
 Birds, Refinement in, 144 
 
 Birds, Songs of, and the 
 phonograph, 167 
 
 Birds, The affection of, 133 
 
 Birds, The libels on, 171, 174 
 
 Birds, The reason of, 125, 127 
 
 " Buff," 49 
 
 CANARIES and parrots, 101 
 
 Canary, A talking, 106 
 
 Canary bird, The, 105 
 
 Canary, The song of the, 104 
 
 Cat and bird catastrophe, A, 47 
 
 Cat in love, A, 5 
 
 Cat in the hospital, 1 1 
 
 Cat that understood, The, 43 
 
 277
 
 278 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Cat, A, and a hedgehog, 27 
 Cat, A, and her kittens, 34 
 Cat, A clever, 16 
 Cat, A disciplinarian, 13 
 Cat, A jealous, 42 
 Cat, A travelling, 7 
 Cat x A warm-hearted, 23 
 Cat, A, with a fire-brigade 
 
 medal, 46 
 
 Cat, An apology for the, 40 
 Cat-and-dog friendship, A, 37 
 Catastrophe, A bird and cat, 47 
 Cats and dogs, Sympathy in, 
 
 24 
 
 Cats as humorists, 26 
 Cats' intelligence, 28 
 Character, Animal, Interpreta- 
 tion of, 197 
 Character in insects, Variety 
 
 of, 211, 215 
 Clever cat, A, 16 
 Clever cow, A, 222 
 Clever donkey, A, 218 
 Clever pony, A, 226 
 Cockatoo's humour, A, 103 
 Cocks and hens, 142 
 Colony of rooks, A, 61 
 Corn, Rooks in the, 62 
 Counting, Power of, Birds 
 
 and their supposed, 129 
 Courtesy and discourtesy in 
 
 birds, 142 
 
 Courtesy in birds, 146 
 Cow, A clever, 222 
 Cows, donkeys, and horses, 
 
 218 
 Cuckoo and its foster-mother, 
 
 The, 80 
 
 Cuckoo, Honest, 84. 89, 93 
 Cuckoo, The, 82, 86, 95 
 Cuckoos, 8 1 
 
 DISCIPLINARIAN CAT, A, 13 
 Discourtesy in birds, 142, 150 
 Dogs and cats, Sympathy in, 24 
 
 Donkey, A clever, 218 
 Donkey, Story of a, 232 
 Donkeys, horses, and cows, 
 
 218 
 Door, How Topsy opened the, 
 
 22 
 
 " Dot," About, 14 
 Duck, The, 146 
 
 ELEPHANT, A tricky, 243 
 Elephant's sagacity, The, 245 
 Elephants, 243 
 Etiquette, Animal, 209 
 Eviction, An ornithological, 
 181 
 
 FACULTY, Reasoning, in birds, 
 
 122 
 
 Feline mourner, A, 44 
 Feline mourners, 17 
 Fidelity in birds, 131 
 Fire-brigade medal, A cat 
 
 with a, 46 
 Fog, Birds in, 169 
 Foster-mother, A new, for 
 
 kittens, 29, 31 
 Foster-mother, The cuckoo 
 
 and its, 80 
 
 Friendship, A cat-and-dog, 37 
 Fruit-eaters, Starlings and, 164 
 Frogs and wasps, 207 
 
 GREY, A kitty, 21 
 Guinea-pig, The, 260 
 
 HABITS of rooks, The, 64, 66, 
 
 69, 7i 74. 75 
 Happy ? Are animals mentally, 
 
 252 
 
 Hare, A tame, 264, 266 
 Hedgehog, A cat and a, 27 
 Hens, Cocks and, 142 
 Hermit wasp, A, 202 
 Honest Cuckoo, 84, 89, 93 
 Horse, A clever, 220
 
 INDEX. 
 
 279 
 
 Horse, A sagacious, 229 
 Horse, A sociable, 221 
 Horse, Sagacity of the, 227 
 Horses, cows, and donkeys, 
 
 218 
 Horses, Wild, communicating 
 
 with each other, 224 
 Hospital, Cat in the, n 
 House-martins, 191 
 Humorists, Cats as, 26 
 Humorous apes, 267 
 Humour, A cockatoo's, 103 
 Hypnotism in animals, 257 
 
 INFLUENCE of music on ani- 
 mals, 247 
 
 Insects and music, 204 
 Insects and reptiles, 195 
 Insects, Variety of character 
 
 in, 211, 215 
 Intelligence, Bird, 122 
 Intelligence, Cats', 28 
 Intelligence of bees, The, 195 
 Interpretation of animal cha- 
 racter, 197 
 
 JACKDAWS and men, 161 
 
 "Jacko,"53 
 
 Jealous cat, A, 42 
 
 KESTREL, A tame, 179 
 Kittens, A cat and her, 34 
 Kittens, New foster-mother 
 
 for, 29 
 Kitty Grey, A, 21 
 
 LANGUAGE of birds, 139, 140 
 Language, Birds and, 137 
 Language, The, of the mar- 
 moset, 239 
 
 Libel on birds, The, 171, 174 
 Likeness, A parrot's recogni- 
 tion of a, 102 
 
 Lizard's love of music, The, 
 203 
 
 London, Birds in, 176, 177 
 London, The tomtit in, 1 16 
 Love of music,The lizard's,2O3 
 Love, A cat in, 5 
 
 MARMOSET, Language of the, 
 
 239 
 
 Marmoset monkey, The 234 
 
 Marmoset, The, 237, 241 
 
 Medal, A cat with a fire- 
 brigade, 46 
 
 Memory of birds, 135, 136 
 
 Men and birds, 154 
 
 Men, Jackdaws and, 163 
 
 Miscellaneous, 154 
 
 Miscellaneous stories, 252 
 
 Monkey, The marmoset, 234 
 
 Monkeys, 234 
 
 Monopolist, A stork, 99 
 
 Mourner, A feline, 44 
 
 Mourners, Feline, 17 
 
 Music and animals, 247, 248, 
 262 
 
 Music and its effect on 
 animals, 250 
 
 Music and its influence on 
 animals, 25 
 
 Music on animals, Influence 
 of, 247 
 
 Music, Insects and, 204 
 
 Music, Lizard's love of, 203 
 
 Musical Tom, A, 9 
 
 Musical wood-pigeon, A, 153 
 
 NEST, A tomtit's, 118, 119 
 Nest, Another tomtit's, 119 
 
 ORNITHOLOGICAL eviction, An, 
 181 
 
 PARROT, A polite, 108 
 Parrot's recognition of a like- 
 ness, 102 
 
 Parrots and canaries, 101 
 Persian, Story of a, 35
 
 280 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Phonograph, Songs of birds 
 
 and the, 167 
 Pictures, Birds and, 101 
 Policeman, A wasp, 201 
 Polite parrot, A, 108 
 Pony, A clever, 226 
 Power of counting, Birds and 
 
 their supposed, 129 
 Power of scent ? Have snakes 
 
 the, 206 
 
 QUEEN-BEE, Sagacity of a, 213 
 
 RKASOX of birds, The, 125, 127 
 Reasoning faculty in birds, 122 
 Refinement in birds, 144 
 Reptiles, Insects and, 195 
 Rook, My tame, 50 
 Rook, The, 57 
 Rooks, 50, 78 
 Rooks in the corn, 62 
 Rooks, A colony of, 61 
 Rooks, Habits of the, 64, 66, 
 
 69. 7<>, 74, 75 
 SAGACIOUS Horse, A, 229 
 Sagacity of a queen-bee, 213 
 Sagacity of bears, 271, 273 
 Sagacity of the horse, 227 
 Sagacity, The elephant's, 245 
 Scent ? Have snakes the power 
 
 of, 206 
 
 Self-sacrifice of a stork, 97 
 Self-sacrifice, A stork's, 98 
 Sheep, A word in defence of, 
 
 254 
 
 Sociable horse, A, 221 
 Song of the canary, The, 104 
 Songs of birds and the 
 
 phonograph, 167 
 Sparrow, A strange. 113 
 Sparrows, 109, in, 112 
 Sparrows, Vain, 151 
 Sparrows, Vanity of, 109 
 Spiders, Web-shaking by, 217 
 Starlings not Fruit-caters, 164 
 
 Stork monopolist, A, 99 
 Stork, Self-sacrifice of a, 97 
 Stork's, A, self-sacrifice, 98 
 Storks, 97 
 
 Story of a donkey, 232 
 Strange sparrow, A, 113 
 Swiss bird story, A, 188 
 Sympathy in cats and dogs, 
 24 
 
 TALKING canary, A, 106 
 
 Tame hare, A, 264, 266 
 
 Tame kestrel, A, 179 
 
 Tame rook, My, 50 
 
 " Tibs," 19 
 
 Toilettes, Animals', 259 
 
 Tom, A musical, 9 
 
 Tomtit architecture, 121 
 
 Tomtit in London, The, 1 16 
 
 Tomtit's nest, A, 118 
 
 Tomtits, 114 
 
 Topsy, How, opened the back 
 
 door, 22 
 
 Travelling cat, A, 7 
 Tricky elephant, A, 243 
 
 UNDERSTOOD, The cat that, 43 
 
 VAIN sparrows, 151 
 Vanity of sparrows, 109, no 
 Vision, Animal, 230 
 Vultures, 182 
 
 WARM-HEARTED cat, A, 23 
 Wasp policeman, A, 201 
 Wasp, A hermit, 202 
 Wasps, Frogs and, 207 
 Web-shaking by spiders, 217 
 Wild horses communicating 
 
 with each other, 224 
 Wood-pigeon, A musical, 153 
 Word, A, in defence of sheep, 
 
 254 
 
 Zoo, Beavers at the, 270
 
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