Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 33.djvu/854

834 littering a violent clamor. The castigation is soon over, and "the unfortunate sufferer having endured the penalty," says Mr. G. Garratt, in his "Marvels of Instinct," "is as well received afterward by the community as if it had committed no transgression at all."

Mr. Garratt repeats the following story from Father Bougeant: "A sparrow, finding a nest that a martin had just built, possessed himself of it. The martin, seeing the usurper in her house, called for help to expel him. A thousand martins came full speed, and attacked the sparrow; but the latter being covered on every side, and presenting only his large beak at the entrance of the nest, was invulnerable, and made the boldest of them that dared approach him repent of their temerity. After a quarter of an hour's combat, all the martins disappeared. The sparrow thought he had got the better, and the spectators judged that the martins had abandoned their undertaking. Not in the least. They immediately returned to the charge; and each of them having procured a little of that tempered earth with which they make their nests, they all at once fell upon the sparrow, and inclosed him in the nest to perish there, though they could not drive him thence."

Another equally tragic story is recorded by the Rev. G. Gogerly in "The Pioneers," his narrative of the Bengal mission: "The flamingo," he remarks, "is common in the low, marshy lands of Bengal. My friend Mr. Lacroix—the well-known missionary—when once sailing in his boat up the Hooghly, went on shore. His attention was shortly directed to a large gathering of these peculiar-looking birds in a field some little distance off. Knowing their timid character, he approached as near as he could without being observed or exciting alarm; and, hiding himself behind a tree, noticed all their proceedings, which were of a most remarkable character. After a great deal of noisy clamor, they formed themselves into a circle, in the center of which one of their number was left standing alone. Again there was a considerable amount of screeching bird oratory, when suddenly all the birds flew on the unhappy solitary one and literally tore him to pieces." The conclusion to which Mr. Lacroix came to was, that one of these flamingos had committed an offense against the rules of their order, that he had been tried by a kind of court martial, was found guilty, and had been adjudged, and met with, immediate punishment.

The following stories concerning storks seem to indicate that they have views concerning the purity of their race, and act upon them: Bishop Stanley relates that a French surgeon at Smyrna, being unable to procure a stork, on account of the great veneration entertained for them by the Turks, purloined all the eggs