186 OUR BACKDOOR NEIGHBORS 



Such friends as the Naturalist are fully 

 alive to the good traits, which are not inconsid- 

 erable, for he renders great service in the de- 

 struction of grubs, beetles, and young field 

 mice. Although such would give him all his 

 due, they can hardly be blind to his shortcom- 

 ings. However, it would be unwise to con- 

 demn him in too sweeping a fashion, for in 

 many localities he is undoubtedly a valuable 

 ally in overcoming certain pests. It is a mis- 

 fortune when a misguided legislative body 

 places a bounty on his head. While at certain 

 times in certain localities his mischief seems 

 to justify his destruction, the annoyance caused 

 by his pranks is a sufficient incentive without 

 adding a bounty, which will also be effective 

 in localities where he renders a service that 

 more than offsets his injuries. 



The Naturalist was very much interested in 

 the elaborate notes by means of which the 

 birds communicated with each other, and 

 spent many months learning to imitate their 

 call. In time he came to give the call so per- 

 fectly as to deceive strange crows which had 

 not learned to look with suspicion upon a call 

 from an unusual position. One spring day 

 when the Naturalist was renewing his ac- 



