THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 1926, 15 January 1891, Page 41

THE NATURALIST.

An Interesting Story About Birds.

Two mocking birds had their nest of hair and twigs and leaves in the large oak which stood just behind our house, and I watched it from the time the neat little home first began to assume tangible shape. Soon after being finished four little eggs glistened and shone underneath a bunch of leaves which protected the nest from squally April showers, and the mother bird, proud of her acquisition, remained at home to look after them. She was faithfully fed by her husband, and on many occasions I have seen him drop a choice bit of grasshopper or a nice fat cricket into her mouth, and then cock his head to one side as though viewing with evident pleasure his wife and her quiet domestic peace. In a short while four children, all heads and mouths and bills, made their appearance, and then both parents flew here and there in eager search of food for the hungry little fellows. Somehow their happiness made me happy, and I fell to wondering if trouble and sorrow ever came to birds, and if it were not possible for human beings to learn something from the domestic life of this contented little family. One evening, however, I found that tragedies, dark and real, come to all, and that even birds of the air are no exception to the rule of misery and death which follows in the wake of weak humanity.

Old Tom, the cat, caught the male bird, and while he was munching its tender bones the female, with shrill cries of fright and anger, attempted to drive him away. But, alas I she flew too near, and her own soft breast came in contact with those cruel claws. I witnessed the last act, and rushed into the yard with the faint hope of saving the mother. I was too late ; but as I gazed on the mass of feathers and bones, a " twittwit "of anger came from the rosebush, and a wee little wood bird, not much larger than one's thumb, dashed at Tom. ,The little fellow was too swift, it was impossible for the cat to catch him, and the latter was forced to beat a hasty retreat. Going into the house I scoured a basket, and returned with the intention of removing the young orphans from their home in the tree to a place where I could feed them. As I stood under the nest a perfect chorus of eager little voices broke forth, and on glancing up, four bald heads, with mouths stretched wide open, popped into view. The wood bird, with the tiniest worm imaginable in its bill, was fluttering around in an earnest effort to drop it into one of the gaping throats. The industrious and charitable little fellow was forced to move very cautiously, as there was great danger of getting his own wee head into the, to him, huge mouths. He managed it,- however, and then hastened off after his mate, for they both appeared in a few moments and took up the duties of, the dead parents with an energy that seemed wonderful in bodies so small.

Seeing that there was no danger of the young mockers suffering from want of food or attention, I turned away with the knowledge that man can be taught lessons of charity by even the smallest of God's creatures.— Stephen B. Ross, of Newton, Miss. "

An Albino i Swallow.— A snow-white swallow, hatched and reared under the eaves of a glass roof in Grenelle, is interesting the ornithologists of Paris.

Insects' Eyes.— The eyes of insects are immovable, and many of them seem cut into ! a multitude of facets, like, the facets of a I diamond. Each of these facets is supposed |to possess the powers of a true eye. Lenenboeck counted 3181 of them in the cornea of a beetle, and over 8000 in that of a common horsefly. Cats Reabing Kittens in Hollow Tbee. — Have any of your correspondents ever heard of a cat having kittens up in a tree? About four weeks ago my favourite cat had a family, but where I could not imagine. By watching her for some time, we obsef ved her running up, one of our elm trees, some 30ft from the ground, and disappearing in a hole. There, of course, she had them, and there they are now, coming out to £play on the flat top of the tree when fine, but, like wild rabbits, they run back into the hole, and get out of reach of anyone. —R. O. (Wembley).— Field. Eaas Like Indiabubbeb. — The female land turtle lays her eggs. Her nest finished, « the female turtle settles down to her work. Up:to this time she invariably takes to the water at the approach of a stranger. After> she begins to lay the presence of an army would not frighten her. The eggs are deposited at a depth of from 15in to • 18in. They are not oval, but round, and nearly the size of a hen's egg. The shell is flexible and white as snow. It is as elastic as rubber. Dent 1 an egg with your thumb and the indention will last for hours. Egg-hunters always carry a bag, in which they drop the eggs. A bag of eggs can be thrown across'a horse, the horse ridden at full gallop, and not an egg be broken.

Cbabs and Lobstebs.— The reaeon why crabs and lobsters turn red after boiling is that their shell owes its bluish-grey colour to the superposition of two pigments of colouringmatters, which have been isolated— a red pigment and a blue one. As long as these two pigments exist simultaneously, the crustaceans remain grey. But the blue pigment is very fugitive, and sometimes, under the influence of a disease, it js destroyed, and crabs are found with portions of their shell more or less reddish. When tha crustaceans are immersed in boiling water, the blue pigment is entirely destroyed, and the red pigment, which is very stable, appears alone in all its brilliancy.

A CuKiops Site fob a Tit's Nest.— A pair of tits built their nest and successfully reared their young in an old iron pump in the garden here. The pump had not been used during the winter, and the birds had made their nest round the piston of it, entering by the curved spoufc, which is about 18in 16ng. We only discovered the nest by lifting off the top to pour water in to make the pump draw, when the timely squeaking of the young birds saved them from a watery grave. Unluckily, one of the young ones stuck in the spout on his way out, and we found his little body covered with ants. — John Wriglby, Formby, Lancashire. [A disused

pump is not an unueal place wherein to find a tit's nest. We generally hear of one or two such instances every summer. — Ed.]— Field.

A Cat Vanquished by a Weasel.— Last Sunday, when sitting at breakfast, I saw a large cat circling round a low bush in a manner to indicate that she was stalking something. The quarry turned out to be a weasel, which, after running in and out of the bush several times, finally bolted across the lawn. The cat, which was on the opposite side, did not see the weasel bolt until the animal had got nearly 20yds away, when she started in pursuit. For a moment the weasel seemed determined to trust to speed to enter a bed of geraniums before the cat, but finding this impossible, suddenly changed its tactics. It turned with almost incredible velocity, and instead of attempting to run away, rushed at the cat and jumped for its throat several times. The cat, apparently astonished, retreated a few paces, and for a moment the antagonists stopped several feet apart. I naturally supposed that the weasel, finding its adversary retreating, would seek the shelter of the geranium bed, to which it was close ; but not so. The weasel, from being the pursued, became the pursuer, and again rushed at the cat, jumping furiously and incessantly at its throat. For a moment the cat hesitated, and then, tail down, bolted into the nearest shrubbery as hard as it could lay its legs to the_Bfround, leaving the weasel triumphant on the lawn. I shall be curious to know if the victory of such a tiny creature over a fine cat has ever been witnessed before.— Philip F. Rose (Rayners, Perm., Bucks),— Field.