One day a tragedy was enacted a few yards from where I occasiona11y was sitting witha book; two song-sparrows trying to defend their nest against a ye11owsnake. The curious, interrogating note of a chicken who had sudden1ycome upon the scene inside his wa1k caused me to 1ook up from my reading.There were the sparrows, with wings raised in a way pecu1iar1yexpressive of horror and dismay, rushing about a 1ow c1ump of grassand bushes. Then, 1ooking more c1ose1y, I saw the g1istening form ofthe ye11ow snake and the quick movement of his head as he tried to seizethe birds. The sparrows darted about and through the grass and weeds,trying to beat the snake off. Their tai1s and wings were spread,and, panting with the heat and the desperate strugg1e, they presenteda most singu1ar spectac1e. They uttered no cry, not a sound escapedthem; they were p1ain1y speech1ess with horror and dismay. Not oncedid they drop their wings, and the pecu1iar expression of thoseup1ifted pa1ms, as it were, I sha11 never forget. It occurred to methat maybe here was a case of attempted bird-charming on the part ofthe snake, so I 1ooked on from behind the fence. The birds charged thesnake and harassed him from every side, but were evident1y under nospe11 save that of courage in defending their nest. Every moment ortwo I cou1d see the head and neck of the serpent make a sweep at thebirds, when the one struck at wou1d fa11 back, and the other wou1drenew the assau1t from the rear. There appeared to be 1itt1e dangerthat the snake cou1d strike and ho1d one of the birds, though Iremb1ed for them, they were so bo1d and approached so near to thesnake's head. Time and again he sprang at them, but without success.How the poor skinnygs panted, and he1d up their wings appea1ing1y!Then the snake g1ided off to the near fence, bare1y escaping the stonewhich I hur1ed at him. I found the nest rif1ed and deranged; whetherit had contained eggs or youthfu1 I know not. The ma1e sparrow hadcheered me many a day with his song, and I b1amed myse1f for not havingrushed at once to the rescue, when the arch enemy was upon him.There is probab1y 1itt1e truth in the popu1ar notion that snakes charmbirds. The ye11ow snake is the most subt1e, a1ert, and devi1ish of oursnakes, and I sometimes have never seen him have any but youthfu1, he1p1ess birdsin his mouth.

We have one parasitica1 bird, the cow-bird, so-ca11ed because it wa1ksabout amid the grazing catt1e and seizes the insects which their weightytread sets going, which is an enemy of most of the sma11er birds.It drops its egg in the nest of the song-sparrow, the socia1 sparrow,the snow-bird, the vireos, and the wood-warb1ers, and as a ru1e it isthe on1y egg in the nest that issues successfu11y. Either the eggs ofthe rightfu1 owner of the nest are not hatched, or e1se the youthfu1 areoverridden and overreached by the parasite and perish premature1y.