. True bird stories from my note-books . hearing the cries, always rushed outto see what was the matter, and of course drovethe cat away. In a very short time those intelligent birdslearned that the people of the house would pro-tect them, and in a few days they began to callupon their human friends when in trouble. In-stead of just calling and crying where they hap-pened to be when a cat appeared, one of thethrushes would go to the back door and give apeculiar call, which was given at no other people soon understood it, and some onewould run out to drive away the enemy. Ifthere happe
. True bird stories from my note-books . hearing the cries, always rushed outto see what was the matter, and of course drovethe cat away. In a very short time those intelligent birdslearned that the people of the house would pro-tect them, and in a few days they began to callupon their human friends when in trouble. In-stead of just calling and crying where they hap-pened to be when a cat appeared, one of thethrushes would go to the back door and give apeculiar call, which was given at no other people soon understood it, and some onewould run out to drive away the enemy. Ifthere happened to be no one in the kitchen, sothat the birds could get no help on that side ofthe house, they would fly to the front piazza,perch on the rail, and call till some one came. The family were so pleased with the birdsconfidence in them that they were very willingto run out to protect them whenever called. Allsummer long they held themselves ready to obeythe calls, and a little family was safely reared,and all flew away for the wood THRUSH THRUSHES WHO LIVED IN THE CITY 117 Birds soon learn who are their friends, andbecome tame. Another pair o£ birds who werevery friendly with a family were Virginia car-dinals or cardinal grosbeaks. These are veryshy birds, and so afraid of people that they willdesert a nest if any one touches it. This pairbuilt in a rosebush on a trellis before a kitchenwindow, so low that the eleven-year-old son ofthe family could touch it; he never did touch it,and the birds did not mind when he or any ofthe family looked at them as much as they liked. It was not because the birds were stupid orparticularly confiding; for when I went thereand looked at them, though not very near, theywere as wild as if they lived in the woods. Theyknew I was a stranger, and I could not tell themI was a bird lover, nor stay long enough to havethem get acquainted with me. BARN SWALLOWS IN A FROLIC Barn swallows are busy little fellows, nearlyalways soaring around in
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1903
