94 BIRD-LAND ECHOES. 



any prejudice against us. It returns good for evil 

 in all cases. After the nesting-time, when food is 

 perhaps becoming scarce, these birds will come quite 

 up to our houses in search of something to eat. If 

 not driven away, they will daily become more fre- 

 quent visitors, and at last, like the alien sparrows, a 

 fixture in the yard. I speak now of the country and 

 of those quaint old-fashioned yards about colonial 

 houses where time has had opportunity to complete 

 the work that the farmer thought he had finished 

 some time during the last century. In one such 

 yard the cat-birds learned to know the inmates of 

 the house and were not afraid. They looked for 

 their share of food when the chickens were fed, and 

 never went away hungry. These birds did not repeat 

 their spring-tide songs, but never forgot to show their 

 appreciation of what was done for them : this was 

 demonstrated by their actions ; and nowhere in all 

 the country round was there more or better fruit than 

 in this farm's kitchen garden. This fact should be 

 sufficient for the wise ; but of what avail is wisdom 

 where prejudice abounds ? 



Although our experience has taught us about 

 what to expect during the latter days of April and 

 early May, there are a good many occurrences in 

 the nature of surprises. When we hear the long- 

 tailed thrasher it used to be called a thrush and 

 turns out to be a wren for the first time we wonder 

 if it ever sang quite so well before. Is there not a 

 little more vim in each succeeding note when, in 

 melodious accents, this fine bird is preaching to us ? 



