THE INSTINCT OF BIRDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2409, 3 May 1900, Page 71

THE INSTINCT OF BIRDS.

i (A Selection from " Bird Notes," by Lady Broosxe, in the Cornhill Magazine.) f There are, I believe, only a very few

mongooses in Barbadoes, and strong mea- \ sures will doubtless bs adopted to still further reduce their number ; for r.o possible advantage- in destroying the large i. brown rat which gnaws the sugar cane can ! make up for the havoc the mongoose I creates in the poultry yard, and, indesd. ! among all feathered creatures. ... It i was, therefore, with the greatest safcisfac- , tion I once beheld in the garden at Govern - S ment House., Barbadoes, the clever manner I the birds circumvented tlje wiles of a half-tame mongoose which haunted the j grounds. Short as is the twilight in those Lesser Antilles, there was still, at midsummer, light enough left in the western sky to make it delightful to linger in the garden aftei our evening drive. The wonder and beauty oi the hues of the sunset . sky seemed ever fresh, and ever}" evening one gazed with admiration, which was al- , mo&t awe, at the .marvellous undreamed-of I colours glowing on that gorgeous palette. Crimsons, yellows, mauves, palest blues, S chrysopra^e greens, pearly greys, all blent j together as if by enchantment, but chtuigj ing as you looked, and melting -nto that ' deep, indescribable, tropic purpls which forms the glorious background of the " meaner beauties of the night." in this same garden there chanced to be a couple oi' low swinging seats just opposite a large tree, which I soon observed was the favourite roosting place of countless numbers oi birds. Indeed, all the fowls of the air seemed to assemble in its branches, and I was filled with curiosity to know why the other trees were deserted. At roosting-time the chattering and chirruping were deafening, and quarrels raged fiercely all along the branches I noticed that the centre of the tree was left empty, i and that the birds edged and sidled out as far as ever they could get on to its slenderest branches. All the squabbles 1 arose from the ardeat desire with which

each bird was apparently filled to be tbe

very last on ihc branch, and &o the nearest to its extreme tip. It can easily be understood that such thin twigs could not stand

the weight of these crowding little creature-, and would therefore bend until they

could no longer cling to it, and so hid to jßy off and return to search for another foothold. I- had watched tliis unusual mode of roosting for several evenings, without getting any hearer to the truth than a guess that the struggle was perhaps to secure a cool and airy bed-place

j One hot evening, however, we lingered : longer in --what the negro gardener called the "swinggers,"' tempted by the cool darkness, and putting off as long as possible the time of lights and added heat, arid & warming winged ants, and moths, and mosquitoes. We had begun to think how delightt ful it would be to have no dinner at all, • but just to stay_there, gently swaying to * and fro all night, when we saw a shadow — j for at first it seemed nothing more — dart I from among the shadows around us, and • move swiftly up the trurk of the tree. At • first I thought it must be. a huge rat. but I my dear companion whispered, " Look at-j the mongoose!" So we sat still, watching it j with closest attention. Soon it was lost in the dense central foliage, and we Avon- ' dered at the profound of that swarming mass of birds, who had not long j settled into quiet. Oiv pooi human, in- : adequate eyes had, however, become so ac- ' customed to the gloom by its gradual growth, that ~\re could soon plainly observe a flattened-out object stealthily creeping along an outlying bough. It was quite a breathless moment, for no shadow could have moved more noiselessly than that crawling creature. Even as we watched, the bough softly and gradually bent .beneath the added weight, but still the mon- _ £oose stole onwards. No little sleemng j ball of feathers was quite within reach, so yei another step must needs be taken along I the slender branch. Tc my joy that step ' was fatal to the hopes of the brigand beast, for the bough dipped suddenly, and the mongoose had to cling to it for deer life, whilst every b : rd flew off with sharp cries of alsfm which effectually roused, th? whole- population of the aerial city, and [ the air was quite darkened round the" tree | by fluttering, half-awakened birds.

It was plain now to see the reason of the proceedings which had so puzzled me, and once more I felt inclined tc — as the P&almist phrases it — "lay mv hand on my,; mouth and be still." in wonder and admira- I tion of the adaptable instincts of birds. I

— There is a submerged f ore&t on the Columbia River between the Dalles and the Cascade Mountain?. According to Mr G. X, Gilbert, the submergence took jilace 350 years ago, and since then the roots have been under water, while the upper parts of the trunks have been bared yearly at low water. The bark io gone, and the wood partly wasted away, but some of it is firm and looks fresh. This fact seems owing to the durable . quality of the wood of that species — namely, the Pseudotsuga Douglassi.