Familiar Studies of Wild Birds 



life, and the hush of suspense was dispelled by 

 a general outburst of carefree song. Surely, 

 "in Nature danger passes like the shadow of 

 a fleeting cloud; no sooner is it past than it is 

 forgotten." Blue jays have an interesting 

 habit of imitating hawks, which one might sur- 

 mise arises from a mischievous desire to startle 

 other birds. As I was picking my way 

 through the marsh from one dry clump to an- 

 other, a crow suddenly bursting out vindic- 

 tively aroused my suspicion. For a moment 

 before I had seen the wily bird departing 

 through the timber some distance ahead. Its 

 present outburst was clearly intended to con- 

 vey the false impression that it had just dis- 

 covered me. As wily as the crow, I passed 

 its nest without an upward glance, but the 

 crafty bird followed me stealthily for some 

 distance. A few hundred yards farther on, a 

 cushion of pine needles under a fine pine of- 

 fered an invitation to rest. I was slipping 



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