The Portland daily press., 1888-11-01

all SUES, anu TORE MN 10 pieces Win tn6lr
powerful beaks. Having executed their sem
tence, they speedily disappeared.
Sparr0ws also are said to hold judicial in
qulry into the conduct of, and mete out pun
ishment to, their fellow-sparrows, but with
out the formalities which the rocks seem to
observe. When miSdeed has been brought
home to any one of their community, force
OF four or more sparrOws is deputed to carry
out the execution of 1.-THE verdict. In their
hurry to execute the decree, they all tumble
over one another with the greatest pugna-
city, uttering violent clamor. The castiga-
tien is soon over, and ''the unfortunate s1f-
ferer having endured the penalty" says Mr..
g. Garrett, in his "Marvels of Instinct" sis
as well received afterward by the community
ALL"
Mr.. Garrett repeats the following story
from Father Bougeant "a sparrow, finding
nest that martin had just built, possessed
himself 1t. The martin, seeing the usurper
In her house, called for help to expel him. A
thousand martins came full speed and at
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 temerlty. After quarter of an hours
combat. all the martins disappeared. The
sparrow thought helhad got the better, and
the spectators judged that the martins had
abandoned the undertaking. Not in the
least. They Immediately returned to the
charge ana 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 S equally, tragic story is recorded by
narrative of the Bengal Mission. "The
tiamingo," he remarks, sis common in the
low,marshy lards 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 large gathering of these peculiar looking
birds in q. 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 be-
hind a tree, noticed all their noisy proceed
ings, which were of most remarkable char
acter. After great deal of noisy clamor
the ~ formed themselves into circle. in the
center of which one of their number was left
standing alone. Again there was consider
able amount Of sereeching 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 fiamingos had COM
mitted an offense against the rules of their
order, that he had been tried by a kind nj
been adjudged, and met with immediate pun
ishment.
The following stories concerning storks
seem to indie 'te that they have views con-
cerning the purity of their race, and act upon
them: Bishop Stanley relate that French
surgeon at Smyrna, being unable TO procure
stork, on account of the great yereration
entertained for them by the Turks, purloined
all the eggs from stork,s nest. and replaced
them with hens eggs. Ultimately Chickens
were hatched, greatly to the surprise Of the
storks. The male st0rk speedily disappeared
and was not seen for two or three days. when
he returned with a large number of other
storks, who assembled in a circle in the
town, without paying any attention to the
numerous spectators their proceedings AT.
tracted. The female stork was brought into
the midst of the circle, and, after some dis
cussion, was attacked by the whole flock and
torn to pieces. The assemblage then dis
persed, and the nest was left tenantless.
A somewhat similar case has been cited NV
the same author as having occurred in the
vicinity of Berlin. Two storks made their
nest in one of the chimneys of a mansion.
and the owner of the house inspecting III
found In it an egg, which he replaced by one
belonging to goose. The storks did not ap
pear to notice the change until the egg was
hatched, when the male bird rose from the
nest, and, after flying around it several times
with lound screams, disappeared. For some
days the female bird continued to tend The
changeling without interruption, but on the
morning OF the fourth the inmates of the
house were disturbed by loud cries in a field
fronting it. The noise proceeded from near
~ oOO storks standing IN compact body
listening, apparently, to the harangue of a sol
itary bird about 20 yards off. When this bird
had concluded its address it retired. and an
other took its place and addressed the meet
Ing In similar manner. These proceedings
were continued by succession Of birds un-
til IL in the forenoon, when the whole court
arose simultaneously into the air uttering
dismal cries. All this time the female had
remained in her nest, but in evident fear.
When the meeting broke up, all the storks
flew toward her, headed by one--supposed to
be the offended husband-who struck her vi
olently three or four times, knocking her ont
of the nest. The unfortunate stork made no
effort to defend herself, and was speedily
destroyed by the troop, who also annihilated
the hapless gosling, and left not a fragment
of the contaminated nest.
The Rev. f. o. Morris, in his anecdotes of
Animal Sagacity," cites the following in
stance of case which ended less tragicaliy.
"Some hens eggs" he says, 'were placed in
stork'S nest and the others removed. The
female, not aware of the change, sat patient
ly the appointed number of days, till the
shells were broken and the young chickens
made their appearance. No sooner were
they seen by the old birds, than they testi-
fed their surprise by harsh notes and fierce
looks; and, after short pause, they Jointly
pecked them to pieces. as conscious of the
disgrace which might be supposed to attach
to dlshonored nest"
A singular case of almost poetic iusticc
among starks is noticed in so old work as
Goldsmith's Natural History" into which
1t was imported from Mrs. Starke's Letters
on Italy" "a wild stork," runs the tale
was brought by a farmer in the neigbbor.
hood of Hamburg into his poultry yard to be
the companion ofa tame one he had long
kept there; but the tame stork, disliking a
rlvai, 1ell upon the poor stranger and beat
him so numerically that he was eomnelled
to take wing, and escaped with difficuIty.
About four months afterward, however. the
latter returned to the poultry yard, in COM
pany with three other storks, who no sooner
alighted than they fell upon the tame stork
and killed him."