shore, wings beating,
tail wide spread, diving now and then for an instant to snatch a morsel;
and every thirty minutes, as punctually as if he carried a watch in his
trim white vest, he took a direct line for the home where his mate sat
waiting.

A few days after the little dame took possession of the nest, the
kingbird had succeeded, without much trouble, in making most of his
fellow-creatures understand that he laid claim to the upper branches of
the oak, and was prepared to defend them against all comers, and they
simply gave the tree a wide berth in passing.

Apparently deceived by his former indifference, however, the robin above
mentioned presumed to call somewhat later. This time she was received in
a manner that plainly showed she was no longer welcome. She retired, but
she expressed her mind freely for some time, sitting on the fence below.
With true robin persistence she did not give it up, and she selected for
her next call the dusk of evening, just before going to bed.

This time both kingbirds flung themselves after her, and she left,
"laughing" as she went. The kingbirds did not follow beyond their own
borders, and the robin soon returned to the nearest tree, where she
kept up the taunting "he! he! he!" a long time, seemingly with
deliberate intention to insult or enrage her pursuers, but without
success; for unless she came to their tree, the kingbirds paid her not
the slightest attention.

The last time the robin tried to be on friendly terms with her neighbor,
I noticed her standing near him on the picket fence under his tree.
There were not more than three pickets between them, and she was
expostulating earnestly, with flirting tail and jerking wings, and with
loud "tut! tut's," and "he! he's!" she managed to be very eloquent. Had
he driven her from his nest? and was she complaining? I could only
guess. The kingbird did not reply to her, but when she flew he followed,
and she did not cease telling him what she thought of him as she flew,
till out of sight.

Strangest of all was the fact that, during the whole of this scene, her
mate stood on the fence within a dozen feet, and looked on! Did he think
her capable of managing her own affairs? Did he prefer to be on good
terms with his peppery neighbor? or was it because with her it would be
a war of words, while if he entered the arena it must be a fight? as we
sometimes see, when a man goes home fighting drunk, every man of the
neighborhood keeps