t's rest or peace anywhere. This
was strange experience for the little fellow, for heretofore none of the
large birds had ever disturbed him. He scolded furiously, but he went;
no one could stand against that determined approach. If the goldfinch
wished to bathe, his persecutor took his place on the nearest perch, not
a foot away, thus driving him to the floor with the intention of using
the big birds' bath. He circled around the edge, but it did not suit,
and he returned to his own, looked at his enemy, spattered a little,
went back to the big dish, returned again, and thus vibrated between the
two for several minutes, while the mocking-bird stood motionless, not
offering any molestation, but plainly wishing to worry him. The final
act occurred when both chanced accidentally to be in the same cage, not
the home of either. The mocking-bird, without provocation, dropped from
the upper perch upon the finch, who uttered a sharp cry and darted away.
Two or three little feathers flew, though no hurt could be seen; but the
smaller bird panted violently for a half hour, as though frightened, and
for four or five hours sat quietly on a perch, neither eating nor making
a sound,--a very unusual proceeding for the lively chattering little
fellow. This proved to be a declaration of open war, and was so
vigorously followed up that before many days the larger bird's door was
not opened until his victim had had his outing and returned to his home.
Teasing never lost its attraction for him, however. He delighted to
alight on the cage and worry his little foe, or to stand near his door
and stare at him. On one such occasion a curious scene occurred. They
stood three inches apart, with the wires between them, when the finch
suddenly began reaching upward as far as possible; taller and taller he
stretched up, till he fairly stood on tiptoe. The mocking-bird, not to
be outdone, imitated the movement on his side of the bars, of course
towering far above his copy. It seemed to afford both of them great
satisfaction; perhaps it expressed contempt more fully than was possible
in any other way.

The largest bird in the room, a Mexican thrush, was considerably
stronger and fiercer than our native wood-thrush, and it seemed absurd
for the mocking-bird to measure swords with him. So it would have been
but for the fact that the Mexican, having lost part of his wing
feathers, was clumsy, unable to fly readily, and no match for his
active, agile anta