1 1 8 American Birds 



living. The fact that he had a free lunch-counter at his 

 back porch home he did not forget. That seemed to be 

 the binding link. He would go about the yard and up 

 into the trees, and he got to wandering farther and far- 

 ther ; but he would always come back several times during 

 the day for food. He knew his name as well as a person 

 does, and would come immediately if he were within call- 

 ing distance. 



As Jimmy grew older he developed into a fine-looking 

 bird. His coat was a slate-gray above and a dull whitish 

 color below. He soon developed remarkable likes and dis- 

 likes. I would hardly have believed that a bird could have 

 shown so much knowledge had I not seen it myself. We 

 are too apt to think there is little real intelligence in 

 the bird brain. I have often wished I could fathom 

 the thoughts that Jimmy had as he sat in his master's 

 room for hours at a time and looked out of the window 

 when it was raining, or when he hopped about the kitchen, 

 picking up and prying Into things, or when he stopped to 

 look his mistress in the eye and chuckle with a side turn 

 of his head. He had the range of the house and the range 

 of the outdoors, yet he often preferred to stay indoors 

 when he took human company to bird company. He knew 

 his home as well as the dog did. But Jimmy didn't like 

 dogs or cats. 



When he had the freedom of the house he liked to 

 tease, and his teasing turned to a pet mockingbird that 

 was kept in a cage. At first Jimmy would sit on the table 

 and watch. Then he took to flying on the top of the cage, 

 and this worried the mocker, who didn't want any one on 

 the cage above his head. But it pleased Jimmy, and he 



