they succeeded without any difficulty, for he opened his mouth for
flics as fast as they could supply him, and was regularly fed to a
whistle. In a few days, perhaps a week, they used to take him into
the fields with them, and as each child found a fly and whistled, the
little bird flew for his prey from one to another. At other times he
would fly round above them in the air, bid always descended at the
first (all, in spite of the endeavours of the wild Swallows to seduce
him away, for which purpose several of them at once would fly about
him in all directions, striving to drive him away when they saw
him about to settle on one of the children's hands, extended with
the food. He would very often alight on the children, uncalled,
when they were walking several fields distant from home.
Our little inmate was never made a prisoner by being put into
a cage, but ranged about the room at large, wherever the children
were, and they never went, out of doors without taking him with them.
Sometimes he woidd sit on their hands or heads and catch flies for
himself, which he soon did with great dexterity. At length, finding it
take up too much of their time to supply him with food enough to
satisfy his appetite, (for I have no doubt he ate from seven hundred
to a thousand flics a day,) they used to turn him out of the house,
shutting the window to prevent his return, for two or three hours
together, in hopes he would learn to cater for himself, which he
soon did, but still was no less tame, always answering their call,
and coming in at the window to them, (of his own accord,) frequently
every day, and always roosting in their room, which he has
regularly done from the first till within a week or ten days past.
He constantly roosted on one of the children's heads till their bedtime,
nor was he disturbed by the child moving about, or even
walking, hut would remain perfectly quiet, with his head under his
wing, till he was put away for the night in some warm corner, for
he much liked warmth.
It is now four days since he came in to roost in the house, and
though lie did not then shew any symptoms of shyness, yet he is
evidently becoming less tame, as the whistle will not now bring
him to the hand; nor does he visit us as formerly, but he always
acknowledges it, when within hearing, by a chirp, and by flying
near. Nothing could exceed his tamcness for about six weeks; and
I have no doubt it would have continued tlie same, had we not
left him to himself as much as we could, fearing he would be so
perfectly domesticated that he would be left behind at the time of
migration, and of course be starved in the winter from cold or
hunger."
Air. Couch, in his 'Illustrations of Instinct,' mentions 'a pair of
Swallows which were observed on the wing, engaged in a chattering
contest, close to an opening which led into a solitary barn. It
was the evident intention of one of them to obtain an entrance, and
equally the determination of the other that no admission should be
permitted. They flew in various directions about the only aperture,
with incessant and angry chattering; but the bird which appeared
to be rightful occupier always maintained his advantage in keeping
nearest the opening. When at last nothing that he was able to do
or utter seemed capable of repelling the pertinacious intruder,
another bird suddenly darted out through the opening, with a
double portion of indignation marked in her motions; and without
uttering a sound, joined her mate in repelling the foe, after which
she again returned to her solitary station within the building.' I
fancy that I have seen something of the sort, as first related, myself.
(A pair of Swallows,' says Bishop Stanley, 'no doubt those of the
preceding year, on their arriving, found their old nest already occupied
by a Sparrow, who kept the poor birds at a distance, by pecking at
them with its strong beak, whenever they attempted to dislodge it.
Wearied, and hopeless of regaining possession of their own properly,
they at last hit upon a plan which effectually prevented the intruder
from reaping the reward of his roguery. One morning they appeared
with a few more Swallows, their mouths distended with a supply of
tempered clay, and, by joint labour, in a short time actually plastered
up the entrance-hole, thus punishing the Sparrow with imprisonment
and death by starvation. This instance of apparent reasoning occurred
at a Rectory-house in Lancashire; and a similar story is on record near
Loudon, of a pair of Swallows calling in the assistance of their neighbours,
for the very same purpose.' Mr. Jesse records a precisely
similar incident as having occurred in regard to a nest built against
the window of a house in Merrion Square, Dublin, and remarks upon
it, 'In this case there appears to have been not only a reasoning
faculty, but the birds must have been possessed of the power of communicating
their resentment and their wishes to their friends, without
whose aid they could not thus have avenged the injury they had
sustained.' Again, 'A pair of Swallows built their nest under the
ledge of a house at Hampton Court: it was no sooner completed, than
a couple of Sparrows drove them from it, notwithstanding that the
Swallows kept up a good resistance, and even brought others to assist
them. The intruders were left in peaceable possession of the nest, till
the two old birds were obliged to quit it to provide food for their young.
They had no sooner departed, than several Swallows came and broke