7/10 I know that real cannibals are people that eat other people. Do these birds eat people ?" "They eat birds and other small animals," said Rap. "Don't you remember ?" "Why, of course I do," said Dodo. "But if Shrikes eat birds, aren't they very bad Citizens ?" "I do not wonder that you think so, my lassie; and so they would be if they ate birds only; but the Shrike earns his right to be thought a good Citizen by devouring mice and many kinds of insects, like beetles, which injure orchards and gardens. The comparatively few birds that he destroys are mostly seed-eaters--not the most valuable kinds to the farmer. |