A HERMIT'S WILD FRIENDS 



agely robbed every bird's nest which he 

 chanced to find. I certainly got this idea 

 from books, for I cannot recall an instance 

 where a bird's nest was robbed by a red squir- 

 rel. 



For years I thought a squirrel was seeking 

 food when he chased the birds in my door- 

 yard. Now my eyes are open, and I am 

 heartily ashamed of myself. I awoke from 

 my trance to find that the red squirrel was 

 simply chasing the birds out of the dooryard 

 and away from the food, which he claimed as 

 his own. 



Twice last summer I saw a red squirrel 

 pounce on a young towhee-bunting, but both 

 times he let the bird go without the loss of 

 a feather. It was evident that he did not in- 

 tend to injure the bird, but merely desired 

 to frighten it away. The intention was so 

 evident that I could not ignore it, and it led 

 me to do a lot of thinking. 



I carefully examined my notes for proof of 

 the squirrel's guilt, and found no record 

 against him. The guilty ones were the hawk, 

 68 



