UNDER THE MAPLES 



satisfaction of seeing the black marauder go limp- 

 ing over the hill, dropping quills from his wings at 

 nearly every stroke. I am sure he will not come 

 back. The fish crow is one of the most active ene- 

 mies of our small birds. Of course, he only obeys 

 his instincts in hunting out and devouring their 

 eggs and young, but I fancy I obey something 

 higher than instinct when I protest with powder 

 and shot. 



The birds do not mind the approach of the 

 domestic animals, such as the cow, the horse, the 

 sheep, the pig, and they are only a little suspicious 

 of the dog, but the appearance of the cat fills them 

 with sudden alarm. I think that birds that have 

 never before seen a cat join in the hue and cry. 

 What alarms one alarms all within hearing. The 

 orioles are probably the most immune from the 

 depredations of crows and jays and owls of all our 

 birds, and yet they will join in the cry of "Thief, 

 thief!" when a crow appears. (The alarm cry of 

 birds will even arrest the attention of four-footed 

 beasts, and often bring the sportsman's stalking to 



naught.) 



I fancy that Phoebe selects our sheds and bridges 

 and porticoes for her nesting-sites because they are 

 so much more numerous than the overhanging 

 rocks where her forbears built. For the same rea- 

 son certain of the swallows and the swifts select 

 our barns and chimneys. 



56 



