the glossy starlings of Africa, and the glorious Impeyan
pheasant of the Himalayas, with many other species."]

There goes a cuckoo, with quite a flight of small birds pursuing him
wherever he goes.

Small birds seem to have an intense hatred of jays and cuckoos, and will
often fly at them in the nesting season, giving them no peace till they
drive them out of the garden, knowing full well that their own broods
are often devoured by the jay, and that the cuckoo has designs upon the
nests.

Although we are some distance from home, I can show you one of my own
bees on this furze blossom. I have a hive of Swiss, or Ligurian bees,
which are said to be in some respects superior to the English species.
The honey is of excellent flavour, and the first year I had far more
honey from the Ligurian hive. I do not think any other hives of
Ligurians are kept within five miles, and, as you see, they have a band
of bright yellow on the abdomen. I can always tell my own bees when I
meet with them in my walks on the common or in the lanes. I had a rather
trying adventure with these bees last May. One Sunday evening we were
just starting for church, about half-past six, when my little niece ran
in exclaiming that there was a great bunch of bees hanging on a branch
near the hives. I knew what had happened--my very irreverent bees had
swarmed on this quiet Sunday evening, and they must be hived if
possible.

My bonnet was soon off and the bee-dress put on, and in five minutes the
bees were secured and settled into a hive. We went to church and were
not even late, but--during the first prayer I heard ominous sounds of a
furious bee under my dress; it was, fortunately, a partly transparent
material, and glancing furtively about I saw my little friend under the
skirt going up and down with an angry biz-z-z. Only the pocket-hole
could release him, so I held that safely in my hand all through the
service, lest the congregation might suffer the wrath of a furious bee,
which in truth is no light matter, for in blind fury it will rush at the
first person it meets and leave its sting in the face or hand. Happily I
succeeded in bringing the bee home again, and resolved to avoid hiving
swarms before church-time in future.

You see under the drooping boughs of the fir-tree yonder an old stone
basin, well known to all the birds in the neighbourhood, for there they
always find a supply of fresh water and food of various kinds to suit
all tastes. A