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WILD BIRD GUESTS

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WILD BIRD GUESTS

HOW TO ENTERTAIN THEM

WITH CHAPTERS ON THE DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS
THEIR ECONOMIC AND ESTHETIC VALUES
SUGGESTIONS FOR DEALING WITH THEIR
ENEMIES, AND ON THE ORGANIZA-
TION AND MANAGEMENT OF
BIRD CLUBS

BY

ERNEST HAROLD BAYNES

WITH A PREFACE BY

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

WITH 50 PHOTOGRAVURE ILLUSTRATIONS
FROM PHOTOGRAPHS

NEW YORK

E. P. BUTTON & COMPANY
1915

COPYRIGHT, 1915

BY

E. P. BUTTON & COMPANY

Ube fmfcfcerbocfeer press, flew l&orfc

Co
MY WIFE

A STANCH FRIEND OF THE BIRDS
AND ALWAYS MY BEST ASSISTANT

THIS BOOK Is AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED

PREFACE

MR. BAYNES has written not only a very in-
teresting book but one that is really of capital
importance. We Americans have recklessly
wasted our national assets in the past. But
now there has come a change. We are trying
to preserve our forests and utilize our water
supply and care for the soil instead of merely
exhausting it. One of the pleasantest features
of the new movement is the constantly growing
interest in wild life, and especially in bird life.
The Meriden Bird Club has furnished a model
for all similar experiments in preserving bird life,
and Mr. Baynes writes in advocacy of a cause
which by practical achievement he has shown to
be entitled to the support of every sensible man,
woman, and child in the country. I say " child "
advisedly, for boys and girls have a peculiar part
to play in the crusade for the better protection
of our birds. There is sound economic reason
for protecting the birds; and in addition there
is ample reason for protecting them simply be-
cause they add immeasurably to the joy of life,

VI

Preface

and of all those fit really to enjoy life outside of
our great cities or even in the parks and suburbs
of our great cities. I speak as one who has in
his own person benefited by the result of Mr.
Baynes's missionary work, for in consequence
of this work we who live on Long Island have
now organized a Bird Club for the Island. Our
endeavor is to do for Long Island some small
part of what has been done by the Meriden
Bird Club and kindred organizations in New
Hampshire and elsewhere.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

FOREWORD

" Kind hearts need no compulsion to be kind.*'

MACKAYE.

FOR a long time it has been the writer's belief
that the final solution of the problem of wild
bird conservation lay, not in the enacting of more
or better laws, necessary as those laws are, but
in the creation of such an interest in, and love
for birds, that a very large majority of people
will have not only no desire to destroy them,
but will actually fight to prevent their de-
struction; and that the birds themselves will
become as safe as valuable private property.
This, it seems, would be a fundamental solution.
Most bird protection laws are in the nature of
artificial restraints upon people who desire to
kill. Restraints are often necessary but seldom
popular. People do not like to be told not to
do things which they very much desire to do;
consequently such laws are often hard to obtain
and harder to enforce. Now, if we could create
the interest and love referred to, we might ac-

vii

viii Foreword

complish a double purpose; viz., first, a great
reduction in the number of people who desire
to destroy the birds for any purpose, and thus,
second, make it much easier to enforce existing
laws in the case of those who still persist in the
desire to destroy. In other words, every person
in whom we succeed in implanting this inter-
est and love would be a recruit for the army of
bird defenders directly from the ranks of either
the bird destroyers or the indifferent, who are
often quite as dangerous as the destroyers them-
selves. The result would be the strengthening
of the defenders and a corresponding weakening
of the destroyers, and the tendency would ever
be to facilitate the passage of such laws as might
still be necessary, and to make difficult the
successful defiance of them.

Now comes the question as to how this interest
and the love which the interest begets, can
most readily be implanted in the heart of the
average man, woman, and child. The writer
believes that the answer to this question lies
in doing active work directly for the birds.
There are few laws more sacred than those of
hospitality. It is not possible for us to be
indifferent to the welfare of our invited guests.
The moment a person — be it man or bird — has
accepted our hospitality, has broken bread with

Foreword ix

us> has eaten our salt, our relations toward that
person have changed. We have been looked
upon with the eyes of friendship — we have been
trusted, and if we are even half decent we cannot
betray our trust. Through the primitive man
which is in most of us, we may kill a bird which
we see in the wilderness, a stranger and on his
guard ; but the bird which comes to our garden,
to our home, onto our hand perhaps, at our
express invitation, we must protect with all the
manliness, with all the womanliness in our make-
up. I shall never forget the first time a chick-
adee alighted upon me, and I felt his wiry little
hands close around my finger, while he cocked
his head on one side and looked up at me from
under his little black cap, as much as to say,
" Is it all right? Honest?"

It surely was all right! I was a champion
of the chickadee from that moment, and to-day
I can think of no surer way for a man to effect
an instant quarrel with me than by injuring a
bird of this species. And a love for one bird
tends to beget a love for other birds.

For the past few years I have been watching
the results of studied kindness and hospitality
to the birds, and the results have been good.
I have seen the attitude of a whole town change
from one of utter indifference to birds, to one of

x Foreword

enthusiastic interest in them, and I have seen
this not once but many times.

I have organized many bird clubs — clubs
which have for their chief object not so much the
study of birds as the extension of hospitality to
them, and in every case the result has been a
better understanding between the members and
their feathered neighbors, the creation of a strong
local sentiment in favor of birds, and an amount
of rational enjoyment and moral uplift out of all
proportion to the labor and expense involved.

The writer makes no claim to originality,
except in the idea that bird clubs may be made a
most powerful factor in the work of bird con-
servation, and incidentally in the social life of
the people in the towns and villages where they
are organized. Judging from his own experience it
should be possible in a few years' time to spread
a network of such clubs over the United States.
Any wide-awake, enthusiastic bird lover with a
reasonable knowledge of methods of attracting
and protecting birds can organize a bird club al-
most anywhere. In order to do so it is not neces-
sary to be an ornithologist; one need not know
a scarlet tanager from a great blue heron,
if only he has enthusiasm — that is absolutely
essential.

Because of the enormous value of birds —

Foreword xi

economic, aesthetic, and moral — the writer be-
lieves that it is the duty of every civilized com-
munity to take its part in a great world-wide
campaign for the conservation of bird life, and
he knows of no more practical way to do this
than by the organization of a bird club whose
principal object is the care of the local birds.
If this little book helps to inspire its readers
to organize such bird clubs in their respective
towns and assists them in their efforts to do
something for the birds, whether they succeed
in organizing a bird club or not, it will have
accomplished the object for which it was written.

E. H. B.

MERIDEN, N. H.,
May i,

CONTENTS

PAGE

FOREWORD iii

PART I

WHY BIRDS NEED PROTECTION

CHAPTER

I. AN INTRODUCTION TO SOME WINTER GUESTS i

II. THE DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS BY THE ELE-
MENTS AND BY DISEASE . . .10

III. THE DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS BY THEIR

NATURAL ENEMIES .... 20

IV. THE DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS BY MAN AND

BY CERTAIN ANIMALS FOR WHOSE
PRESENCE MAN is RESPONSIBLE . 39

PART II

WHY IT IS WORTH WHILE TO GIVE BIRDS PROTECTION

V. THE MONEY VALUE OF BIRDS . . .81

VI. THE ESTHETIC AND MORAL VALUES OF

BIRDS 115

xiii

xiv Contents

PART III

HOW WE CAN ALL HELP TO PROTECT THE BIRDS

CHAPTER PAGE

VII. THE ENTERTAINMENT OF WILD BIRDS IN

WINTER 127

VIII. HOSPITALITY ALL THE YEAR 'ROUND WITH
A LIST OF THE TREES, SHRUBS, AND
CREEPERS MOST ATTRACTIVE TO BIRDS 163

IX. THE BIRD LOVER AS A LANDLORD. A
CHAPTER CONCERNING NEST BOXES,
NEST SHELVES, ETC. . . .192

X. BIRD BATHS AND DRINKING POOLS . .219
XI. SOME OF THE PROBLEMS WHICH CONFRONT

BEGINNERS ..... 233

XII. BIRD CLUBS, How TO ORGANIZE THEM,

WHAT THEY CAN Do TO BE USEFUL . 269

APPENDIX. — CONSTITUTIONS OF CERTAIN BIRD

CLUBS 299

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 310

INDEX ........ 317

ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING
PAGE

FLICKER FEEDING ITS YOUNG IN A BERLEPSCH

NEST Box* .... Frontispiece

THE AUTHOR AND A FRIENDLY CHICKADEE . . 4

From a photograph by Louise Birt Baynes

I WONDER WHAT HE'S GOT IN THAT ... 8
A CHICKADEE GUEST 8

From photographs by Louise Birt Baynes

LAPLAND LONGSPURS AFTER A STORM . . 16

From a photograph by Dr. Thomas S. Roberts

QUAIL DEAD FROM STARVATION . . . .16

From a photograph by Wilbur Smith

A RED SQUIRREL USURPING FEED Box AND

BATH* ....... 22

RED FOXES DESTROY BIRDS BOTH OLD AND
YOUNG* ....... 22

TRACKS OF A MINK* ...... 28

THE SKUNK WILL EAT YOUNG WILD BIRDS AS

WELL AS HENS* 34

"ADVANCING DEATH." THE WHITE WEASEL, OR

ERMINE* 34

THE SNOWY OWL is PARTIAL TO WATERFOWL* . 40

THE RACCOON DINES ON BIRDS WHEN HE CAN* . 50

xv

xvi Illustrations

FACING
PAGE

THE OPOSSUM WILL DESTROY BIRDS AND EGGS* . 58
AMERICAN SONG BIRDS KILLED BY ITALIANS . 66

From a photograph by Wilbur Smith

A SNAPPING TURTLE DESTROYED FIFTEEN YOUNG

WOOD DUCKS 74

From a photograph by E. A. Quarles

THIS BULL FROG COULD SWALLOW A YOUNG

WATERFOWL* 74

MONUMENT TO THE SEA GULLS IN SALT LAKE

CITY 84

Designed by Mahonri Young

THE GREAT HORNED OWL DESTROYS MANY BIRD

ENEMIES* ....... 92

SCREECH OWL AND ITS HOME-MADE BIRD HOUSE* . 100

STOMACH CONTENTS OF A MEADOW LARK: FOUR-
TEEN CUTWORMS, THIRTY-SIX BEETLES . 108
From a photograph by Harold C. Bryant

A BARN OWL'S SCRAP HEAP: BONES OF MICE,

BUT NO FEATHERS 108

From a photograph by Thomas H. Jackson

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE REDPOLLS AND

PINE SISKINS AS GUESTS* . . . .116

MARTIN HOUSE IN A MERIDEN GARDEN* . .116
GROUSE BURROW IN THE SNOW* . . .122

A FEEDING STATION WHERE THE "BIRD MASQUE"

WAS STAGED* 130

QUAIL SAVED FROM STARVATION BY HIGH-SCHOOL

BOYS 130

From a photograph by John Tresilian

Illustrations xvii

FACING
PAGE

A "WEATHERCOCK" FOOD HOUSE* . . .140
A WINDOW Box IN THE AUTHOR'S STUDY . . 148

From a photograph by Louise Birt Baynes

AN AUDUBON FOOD HOUSE IN WINTER* . .154

AN "AUTOMATIC" FOOD HOUSE HOLDS A BUSHEL

OF SEED* 154

BARRED OWL, USUALLY A BENEFICIAL BIRD* . 160

A DECORATIVE BIRD BATH* . . . .168

YOUNG BALTIMORE ORIOLE BEFORE THE BATH* . 178

AFTER THE BATH * . . . . .178

SONG SPARROWS ENJOYING A BATH* . . .190

BIRD BATH IN THE AUTHOR'S GARDEN. . . 190

From a photograph by Louise Birt Baynes

CHICKADEE FEEDING UNDER A BERLEPSCH "FOOD

BELL"* 202

CHICKADEE AT A BERLEPSCH NEST Box* . . 202

A BIRD BATH MEMORIAL TO EDWARD EVERETT

HALE* 212

A BIRD BATH IN NEWTON CENTRE, MASS. . . 226

From a photograph by Marr

BRONZE BIRD BATH COMMEMORATING THE "BIRD

MASQUE" 230

Designed by Mrs. Louis Saint-Gaudens

DUCKS DYING OF STARVATION ON LONG ISLAND . 240

From a photograph by Wilbur Smith

A SWAN THAT WAS CARRIED OVER THE FALLS . 240

From a photograph by James Savage

xviii Illustrations

FACING
PAGE

ST. CATHERINE'S LIGHT-HOUSE, ISLE OF WIGHT,

SHOWING BIRD-RESTS .... 256
Courtesy of Our Dumb Animals

SOME JUNIOR MEMBERS OF THE CORN-FIELD BIRD

CLUB OF CORNISH . . . . .270

" RAISING THE MARTIN HOUSE " FOR THE CHARLES-
TOWN BIRD CLUB ..... 270

From a photograph by Walter Buswell

TRAMPLING SNOW TO MAKE A FEEDING STATION* . 280
CITIZENS OF MERIDEN GIVING THE BIRDS A DAY'S

WORK* ....... 280

THE RIGHT KIND OF FEATHERS FOR A HAT* . 290

*From a photograph by the author

WILD BIRD GUESTS

Wild Bird Guests

CHAPTER I

AN INTRODUCTION TO SOME WINTER GUESTS

IF on some winter day you were to alight from
"Ike" Bonner's stage and approach one of the
neat-looking cottages on the main street of
Meriden, New Hampshire, it is more than likely
that you would be greeted by the alighting of
a wild bird upon your shoulder. And probably
you would think that the bird had simply made
a mistake, until another one alighted on your hat
and peeped at you over the brim. Then, if you
asked the meaning of this familiarity, you would
be told that you were in "The Bird Village"
where birds are treated as honored guests from
one year's end to another; where they are
provided with food and lodging and where they
are protected from their enemies. And you
would hear of all sorts of interesting and delight-

2 Wild Bird Guests

ful experiences which some of the people have
had with birds which have become so fearless
that they will sometimes permit one to pick them
up. And if you were to express doubt that such
experiences would ever come to you, you would
learn that there is no mystery about it; that it is
simply a matter of being very quiet and gentle
with your feathered guests; of being patient
with them, and of using a little thought and
ingenuity for their comfort and welfare. Meri-
den people have done these things and they
have been rewarded by having seven species of
our winter birds come to their hands for food.
Pine grosbeaks, white-winged crossbills, red-
polls, pine siskins, white-breasted nuthatches,
red-breasted nuthatches and chickadees have
thus shown their appreciation of what the people
of this little New England village have done for
them. Perhaps no other place of equal size in
this country has thus been honored. Every
year for several years our people have had some
memorable experience with birds.

For example, one severe winter when the pine
grosbeaks came down from the north in great
numbers, we fed hundreds of them in the gardens
of Meriden, and not only the writer but several
other bird-lovers fed them as they sat on hand or
shoulder. They were so tame that one could sit

Some Winter Guests 3

down in the middle of a flock, and the birds
would come into one's lap to feed. They would
alight upon the heads of children watching them,
and sometimes they allowed us to pick them up
one in each hand.

Another winter the crossbills visited us.
A few, six or eight, had been coming most of the
summer to the garden path. Two or three were
American and the rest white-winged crossbills.
They crept about, quiet as mice, eating some-
thing, but just what it was I could not tell until
they had been here for some time. Then one
day after watching them at work for several
minutes, I took a magnifying glass and went
down on my knees to see what there might be
there to attract them. I found that they had
been working on a patch of clay, the surface
of which they had carved in every direction with
their sharp bills. As there were no "chips" I
knew that these must have been eaten, so I
tasted the clay to see why they had eaten it. It
was very salty, the result of scattering salt on
the path to kill the weeds. A few days later our
friend, Frederic H. Kennard, came to see us,
and observing the crossbills, ran into the house
for some salt, of which he had often observed
their fondness. The flock continued to grow
until midwinter, when it numbered about a

4 Wild Bird Guests

hundred and twenty-five. We went out to play
with them for a while almost every day, and
by and by they seemed to look for our coming.
We would sit on the well-trampled snow we had
prepared for their feeding ground, and from the
trees about us they would come down in a musi-
cal shower, to alight upon our heads and shoul-
ders and to feed from our hands. It was such
fun that sometimes even when the thermometer
registered from ten to fifteen degrees below
zero we would sit there feeding them, photo-
graphing them, or often simply watching them,
until we were almost too numb to get up.

Sometimes in winter the redpolls come to
Meriden in flocks aggregating many hundreds,
and there are usually a number of pine siskins
among them. At such times the streets of the
village are alive with birds, and their cheerful
twitterings make it seem as though spring had
come back several weeks in advance. These
little birds alight in the dooryards and swarm
over the piazzas like flies on a sugar bowl, and
they will feed from the hands of anyone who has
the patience to stand still in the snow for a little
while. I have sat down among them, and had
both species not only take food from my hand
but treat me very much as they would a bush or
a stump.

Some Winter Guests^ 5

Neither of the nuthatches has ever con-
descended to alight upon me, but a red-breasted
nuthatch once allowed me to stroke him with a
forefinger as he was feeding on suet, and neigh-
bors of ours entertained one which used to come
to their hands almost every day for months. I
have almost touched a downy woodpecker, but
not quite. He was feeding on a food tree at
Meriden, and showed no fear when I walked
up until my face was within eight inches of him.
My enemies say that this marks the limit of
courage in any wild bird, and that that wood-
pecker should have been awarded a medal for
bravery.

But as a rule the chickadees are the tamest of
all ; there seems to be no limit to the confidence
which these little fellows will have in you if you
give them a little encouragement. At my home
they know us so well that if they don't see what
they want they practically ask us for it. Some-
times before we are up in the morning they will
sit in a row on the bedroom window-sill and
hammer on the glass with their bills. We open
the window and in they come. Like as not they
will find some broken nuts on the dressing-table;
if so, they may eat them there or they may fly
out into the garden with them. One morning
we invited them to breakfast. We set the

6 Wild Bird Guests

breakfast table close to an open window and
sprinkled broken nuts upon the cloth. In came
the chickadees, picked up the nuts, and flew
out into the garden with them. To teach them
better manners we swept up the small pieces of
nut and stitched each large piece to the table-
cloth; after that the chickadees stayed right
on the table and took breakfast with us.

One day, when we were living at Stoneham,
Massachusetts, I saw a flock of these little birds
in a tree, and I thought I would see how tame
I could make them. I held out a handful
of broken nuts and gave an imitation of the
"phcebe" note of the chickadee. One little
fellow flew down to my hand, picked up a piece
of nut, and flew away. I called to Mrs. Baynes
to bring a camera, and when I saw another bird
coming, instead of holding the loose nuts in the
palm of my hand as before, I held a single piece
tight between my thumb and forefinger. Down
came the chickadee, and finding that he could
not fly away with the nut, he sat there for several
minutes and ate it. That seemed pretty good for
a first attempt, but I thought I would test him
further. I placed a piece of nut between my
lips and held up my forefinger as a perch for him.
He needed no second invitation, but alighted on
the finger and helped himself. It didn't seem

Some Winter Guests 7

possible that a bird could show much more
confidence than that, but I thought I'd put him
to still another test. Leaving the nut just where
it was, I calmly folded my hands behind my back
leaving him no perch at all. It didn't feaze him
one bit, for the next moment he alighted on my
lip and helped himself to the nut as though he
had been used to feeding in this way all his life.

When we came to New Hampshire we found
the chickadees just as friendly. A flock made
our house its headquarters and the first time that
Mrs. Baynes went out to feed them she succeeded
in getting five of them to alight upon her at once.
She used English walnuts and a little patience.

On one occasion I was in the garden with a
rifle practising at a mark, when a chickadee
alighted on the front sight, tipped over and
deliberately looked down the barrel, as much as
to say, "I wonder what there is in that/'
Sometimes when I am in the woods, far from the
house, the chickadees will come to me. I re-
member one bitter winter day I was sitting in the
snow having my lunch, and the chickadees
swarmed about me, alighting on my cap, my
shoulders, and my snowshoes, which I had taken
off and stuck in the snow. I pulled a sandwich
from my pocket and as I put it to my lips, a
chickadee came down out of a tree overhead,

8 Wild Bird Guests

alighted on the other end of the sandwich and
helped me to eat it. When we go out in winter,
the chickadees often come down like so many
little highwaymen and literally "hold us up"
for nuts and other things we are likely to have in
our pockets for them. I once had a chickadee
sit on my hand eating nuts until he simply
couldn't hold any more. He looked absolutely
comfortable and I half expected to hear a sigh
of contentment. I cupped my other hand and
put it over him, until his head alone was visible
in the circle of my thumb and forefinger, and
perhaps made drowsy by the warmth, he closed
his eyes and tucked his head beneath his wing.
And it is not only in winter that the chickadees
are with us; they nest about the place, and come
to our hands, though not as frequently, in the
spring, summer, and fall. Not long ago a pair
of chickadees nested in our orchard, and gave
their nestlings an occasional meal of suet from a
stump near the house. If we were photograph-
ing nearby, the parent birds would come to our
hands or alight upon the camera or tripod.
When the young ones left the nest they were
quite fearless and allowed us to approach and
stroke them, and when Mrs. Baynes placed a
youngster on her outstretched hand, one of the
parents came, and poising, humming-bird fash-

Some Winter Guests 9

ion in the air beside it, passed insects into its
mouth.

One day last spring I was delighted on return-
ing from a lecture tour of several months dura-
tion, to be met in the lane, half a mile from my
home, by a band of chickadees and escorted to
the house by my little friends, first one and then
another of whom would fly to my hands or
shoulders.

CHAPTER II

THE DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS BY THE ELEMENTS
AND BY DISEASE

BIRDS seldom tell us of their troubles. To be
sure, when their homes are in danger, or when
their little ones are killed or carried off, some
parent birds let us know by their frantic cries,
how real and bitter is their grief. And of course
hungry nestlings often clamor for food. But
usually, full-grown birds, like thoroughbred
people, take their troubles, their dangers, and
even death itself, with quiet courage and without
any fuss. If they didn't I'm afraid their sym-
pathetic human neighbors would get little rest,
for they are beset by so many dangers and face
death in so many forms that I sometimes wonder
how any of them manage to escape. Of these
dangers, the elements are among the worst and
least controlable. Storms often kill thousands
of birds in a few hours. The small birds, which
during migration, cross large bodies of open
water, are perhaps the ones most likely to perish

10

Destruction by Elements and Disease 1 1

in great numbers from this cause. Flocks of
warblers winging their way across the Gulf of
Mexico or one of the Great Lakes, are some-
times overtaken by heavy storms which result
in their wholesale destruction. Plucky as they
are, their tiny muscles are no match for the
mighty winds which sweep the water, and they
are beaten backward and downward, with no
spot on which to rest even for a moment. Even
in such dark hours, their courage asserts itself;
they do not give up, but battle still with their
giant foe, which hurls them far from their course.
Then perhaps comes a cold and driving rain,
which soaks their plumage and increases the
burden already too great for the weary muscles.
Down they go toward the roaring water beneath
them, until they are met by the leaping waves,
which lick them into the deep, where the last
spark of their dauntless courage is quenched in
death. Next morning their tiny, bright-colored
bodies may be found strewn for miles along the
coast, among the shells and pebbles of the beach.
The cold storms of late spring, which come
after many of the migrants have arrived, some-
times kill nearly all the birds of certain species
over a wide area of country. Insect-eating birds
suffer most as a rule from these storms, because
the insects are driven to cover and are hard

12 Wild Bird Guests

to get in sufficient numbers to maintain life.
Every now and then there comes a spring so
cold and stormy that bluebirds perish in great
numbers and a great scarcity of these birds is
observed the following year. More rarely the
destruction is so widespread that several years
pass before bluebirds are seen again in their
usual numbers. In The Auk for October, 1907,
Dr. Thomas S. Roberts of the Minnesota
Natural History Survey, tells of a snowstorm
which occurred in Minnesota and Iowa, in
March, 1904, when not far from a million and a
half Lapland longspurs perished in a single night.
But the birds which suffer most frequently, and
as a rule most severely from these untimely
storms, are those which capture their insect prey
almost entirely on the wing — such birds as swifts
and swallows. The snow or cold rain having
swept the air practically clear of insect life,
such birds quickly starve to death. Purple
martins, perhaps because they are larger than
the other swallows and hence require more food,
often suffer very severely. For example, so
many purple martins were destroyed by storms
in the springs of 1903 and 1904 that there were
hardly any of these beautiful birds to be found
in Massachusetts and they were scarce all over
New England.

Destruction by Elements and Disease 13

Even birds as hardy and omnivorous as the
robin have a hard time in the late snowstorms.
Here in New Hampshire, robins are often driven
to eat the decayed apples which have hung
frozen to the trees all winter, and in some cases
they eat so much of this fermenting fruit that
they become intoxicated.

Bad storms occurring in the nesting season
cause great havoc among young birds. The
wind breaks down branches and sometimes whole
trees containing the nests, and often the nests
themselves are blown to the ground. Con-
tinuous heavy rain chills and kills the nestlings
in spite of the best efforts of the parents to shield
their little ones. One pouring wet June day I
found a phoebe's nest on the side of a cliff in
Massachusetts. The cold water from the rock
above was dripping into it and the five young
birds were already dead. Only last spring a
pair of chipping sparrows had a nest in a little
bush close to my front door and all the young
ones were killed by a cold wet storm. The brave
little mother did her very best to shelter them,
and long after they were dead she continued to
sit on the nest to cover them with her wet and
bedraggled wings.

Floods occurring during the nesting season are
sometimes very destructive to birds which nest

14 Wild Bird Guests

on the ground. Some years ago at Stamford,
Connecticut, I had under observation several
nests of song sparrows and other birds in a low-
lying meadow. I went down there one morning
after several days of heavy rain, and found the
meadow, nests and all, under water. Some
of the nests had contained newly hatched young
and the parents were still flitting about among
the bushes nearby, calling incessantly.

More dramatic, if much less serious, is the
destruction wrought by the great waterfalls
which every year take their toll of aquatic birds.
Every spring many birds, chiefly ducks, geese,
and swans go over the Horse-Shoe Falls at
Niagara. Some of these are killed outright,
but many of them are only stunned and might
easily be saved. In 1912 one hundred and forty
whistling swans went over the falls in this way,
and were fished out by boys and men, knocked
on the head and sold for food to people in Ni-
agara Falls. Most of the birds were secured by
a young man employed at the Maid of the Mist
landing, who, living in a little house close to the
water, was always on the watch. With Mr. James
Savage of Buffalo I went to see this young man
the following spring and he told us that the birds
almost always came over at night. Far above the
falls the water is smooth and here the birds

Destruction by Elements and Disease 15

alight. Apparently they are carried down into
the swift water when asleep and then it is evi-
dently impossible for them to save themselves.
The young man told us that once he captured a
swan that was only stunned and that he tied a
fishing line to its leg and kept it in a little pond
made by an eddy of the river. The bird became
very tame and would take food from his hand,
but one day took alarm at a company of soldiers,
flew into the air, and snapping the fishing line
as though it had been a thread, flew away down
the river.

Mr. Savage with some friends once saved a
flock of swans by chasing them in a power boat
and making them fly away just before nightfall.
It was a daring thing for these men to do, for if
by any chance the engine had become disabled
nothing could have prevented their going over
the falls.

Severe winters destroy great numbers of birds,
which perish chiefly for lack of food. It seems
that most birds can stand cold weather if only
they can get food enough. A bird's body may be
likened to a little furnace in which food takes
the place of coal or wood. As long as there is
plenty of fuel in the furnace it remains warm no
matter how cold the weather may be; but when
there is no fuel to be had the fire dies out and

16 Wild Bird Guests

the bird with it. I once kept a turkey vulture
in my garden in Massachusetts and though he is
naturally a bird of a warmer clime, he remained
in perfect health through the very severe winter
of 1903-1904, simply because I kept him well
supplied with food. That same winter the
hardy native birds died in great numbers be-
cause they could not get food — could not get
the fuel to keep the little furnaces going. Ac-
cording to the State Ornithologist, Edward Howe
Forbush, between ninety and ninety-five out of
every one hundred quail in Massachusetts died
of starvation that winter. Similar tragedies oc-
cur every severe winter, and if we do a little
thinking we find that there is no mystery about
it. When the trees and bushes are sheathed in
ice it must be very difficult and at times impos-
sible for the insect-eating birds such as wood-
peckers, nuthatches, chickadees and creepers, to
get at the insects and larvae which lurk in and
below the bark and in the axils of the twigs.
And when the ground is covered under a foot or
more of snow, how can such birds as sparrows
and finches and quail and other seed-eaters dig
down under it to get at their food ? Of course
some birds find weed-stalks sticking out above
the snow and others perhaps switch off onto a
diet of berries, but there are many others who

At M/ t/vad rm ojjan wtifm

\

Destruction by Elements and Disease 17

fail to find enough to support life and these of
course starve to death.

We cannot control the elements, but we can at
times, by offerings of food and shelter help the
birds in their battle against the cold and the
storms, and this matter will be taken up in detail
in a later chapter.

THE DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS BY DISEASE

That wild birds sometimes become ill is a
fact not very generally thought of perhaps, and
comparatively few of us have ever seen a sick
bird in its native haunts. Yet birds are some-
times attacked by epidemics which work as
much destruction among them as cholera or
the bubonic plague works among human beings.
Such an epidemic has recently been playing
havoc with the waterfowl and marsh birds of
Utah. In a letter to the writer, Mr. Fred. W.
Chambers, State Commissioner of Fish and
Game, says:

" Since 1910 we have had an epidemic among
the marsh birds of Utah, especially the ducks,
though the snipe family has suffered consider-
ably. We collected and buried in quicklime
over a million birds in the year 1910, and each
year thereafter until the present time, not in-

18 Wild Bird Guests

eluding 1914, we have buried in the neighbor-
hood of five hundred thousand birds, making a
total of two and a half millions of birds that
have been destoyed by this epidemic. We have
worked constantly to find out the real cause of
the epidemic, but as yet have not been able to
say just what it is. "

A considerable number of wild birds as well
as domesticated ones are troubled with a parasite
known by the formidable name of Coccidiosis,
and which in some species causes a dangerous
disease of the intestines. Professor Philip B.
Hadley of the Biological Laboratory at King-
ston, Rhode Island, who has been studying this
parasite, has found it in European sparrows, field
sparrows, white-throated sparrows, j uncos, rob-
ins, and hermit thrushes. He also found that
seemingly the parasite can be transmitted from
European sparrows to domestic poultry. Pro-
fessor Hadley considers that the spreading of this
disease from one part of the country to another
by means of these birds and especially by the
European sparrow is not only a menace to domes-
tic poultry, but may result in the infection and
destruction of wild game birds. This would
seem to be another reason why we should unite
in an effort to reduce the number of European
sparrows.

Destruction by Elements and Disease 19

Grouse, quail, and others are known to suffer
severely from disease at times, and this fact
presents perhaps the most serious difficulty
met by those who attempt to rear these birds
in captivity.

CHAPTER III

THE DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS BY THEIR NATURAL
ENEMIES

BY the natural enemies of birds is here meant
those wild creatures which naturally prey more
or less upon birds. These include wild cats,
wolves, foxes, bears, raccoons, weasels, mink,
skunks, wolverines, squirrels, rats, and opossums
among our mammals; shrikes, grackles, crows,
jays, certain owls and hawks, and occasionally
other species, among the birds ; snapping turtles
and many snakes among the reptiles; bullfrogs
among the batrachians, and pike and possibly
other voracious species among the fishes. There
are others but these are the principal ones in this
country. Animals like cats, dogs, and pigs,
which have been domesticated by man, and
European starlings and sparrows, which have
been imported by him, are not, strictly speaking
natural enemies of our wild birds and will be
treated of elsewhere.

Some of the bird enemies mentioned above do

20

Destruction by Natural Enemies 21

a great deal of damage, others only a little, and
some so offset their own evil deeds by keeping
other bird enemies in check that it is hard to
decide whether we should class them as friends
or foes.

Probably all our wild cats, including mountain
lions, kill some birds if good opportunity offers,
and when wild turkeys and grouse were abundant
they probably took their share. Audubon once
saw a bob cat capture a wild turkey and on
another occasion watched one pounce upon a
partridge in a covey which it had been carefully
stalking. He also states that grouse and other
birds form part of the food of the Canada lynx.
But these powerful cats prey upon so many
four-footed creatures, such as squirrels, rabbits,
and even deer and mountain sheep, that it is
doubtful if they would be a serious menace to
bird life even if they were much more numerous
than they are.

The damage done to birds by wolves is prob-
ably slight, owing to the fact that wolves
prey chiefly upon other creatures. But we may
be sure that no bird or nest of birds discovered
by a wolf is permitted to escape if he can help it.
Both timber wolves and coyotes have been
known to kill domestic poultry. A tame coyote
I once had at my home used to kill wounded

22 Wild Bird Guests

birds whenever he saw them and once killed and
partly ate a turkey gobbler weighing nearly
twenty-five pounds.

There is plenty of evidence to show that foxes
are often destructive to bird life. It is easiest to
get such evidence in the spring, when there are
large families of hungry young foxes to be fed.
At the mouth of a fox den at this season one may
often see feathers, bones, and other remains of
grouse, quail, and poultry. I once saw a fox
shot just as she was about to enter her den with a
grouse in her mouth. Foxes are wonderfully
alert, sharp of ear, keen of sight and scent, quick
on their feet, and very intelligent. If they were
good climbers, they would be perhaps the worst
enemies the birds could have. Even as it is
they capture wild birds in many different ways.
Sometimes they stalk them, and spring upon
them as a cat might do, and a fox has been seen
to take a quick run and a tremendous leap and
catch a small bird on the wing. They will attack
game birds on the nest, and their habit of captur-
ing grouse which have been spending the night
under the snow, has long been known. I once
saw a fox barely miss capturing a grouse as it
left its snowy shelter. Another method not so
widely known, but which is apparently adopted
by a good many foxes and possibly other animals,

Destruction by Natural Enemies 23

consists in following the trail of persons who
ramble in the woods and fields, apparently in the
hope that they will lead to something desirable.
Foxes are naturally curious, and have long been
known to follow people seemingly to satisfy
their curiosity. Now and then a fox comes upon
the track of someone who has been visiting a
bird's nest, and following it, finds that it leads
to a meal of eggs or nestlings. Ever afterwards
probably that fox will follow the trails of other
human beings who cross his path, in the hope
of similar pleasing results. So closely will foxes
follow up clews of this kind that in some parts of
the country to visit the nest of a ground-building
bird is said to doom it to destruction. Per-
sonally I try to avoid going close to such a nest
except when really necessary, for I greatly dis-
like to add to the many dangers which already
surround the little home.

But foxes have many good points, which we
sometimes overlook when speaking of their evil
deeds. They eat great numbers of wild mice,
so destructive to the crops and young trees, and
possibly to birds as well. I have watched them
for hours when they did nothing but catch
grasshoppers, and it is well known that at certain
times and places the much-hated woodchuck
forms a considerable part of the fox's diet. Not

24 Wild Bird Guests

long ago I surprised a fox as he was eating a
very large woodchuck. When he saw me he ran
off with his prey, but I shouted at him and he
dropped it. He had probably killed it the day
before, eaten a part of it, and buried the rest,
for it was rigid and had evidently just been
taken from the ground.

Bears in the United States probably harm the
birds very little; they are usually too slow of
movement to capture anything that can fly,
and the damage they do in this direction is
probably limited to the devouring of eggs in
nests which they happen to stumble upon.
That at certain times and places bears may
menace a colony of birds is pointed out by Dr.
Charles H. Townsend who has kindly called my
attention to Captain Cartwright's Journal of
June 18, 1777, where it<is recorded that polar
bears were killed and their stomachs found to be
filled with the eggs of eider ducks.

Raccoons eat a wide variety of food, of which
in most places young birds and birds' eggs prob-
ably constitute only a small part. I doubt if
they often capture full-grown wild birds. Water-
fowl sitting on their nests may suffer in certain
localities, and perhaps raccoons occasionally
capture birds on their roosts at night. Com-
paratively slow-moving creatures, fond of fruit,

Destruction by Natural Enemies 25

ripe corn, insects, crawfish, frogs, wild mice, and
domestic poultry, they would as a rule be likely
to destroy wild birds' nests only when they
happened accidentally to find them. I once had
two raccoons in a large pen in which I had
placed a tree for them to climb. One morning,
having a live crow and no special place for him,
I put him in the pen with the raccoons. He flew
about, made himself at home, and his hosts seem-
ed barely interested in him. Ten minutes after
dark I went to see if everything was all right and
found nothing left of the crow but his feathers.
A raccoon had probably climbed the tree after
the bird had gone to roost, and either captured
him where he slept or caused him to blunder to
the ground in the dark.

Practically all members of the weasel tribe,
including skunks and mink, are enemies of birds ;
most of them will eat the young and sometimes
the eggs. Weasels are probably very destructive
to birds, since they are extremely active and
fearless, wonderful climbers and in the wild
state almost wholly carnivorous. Moreover,
they seem to kill for the love of killing, whether
they are hungry or not, a fact testified to
by many a farmer whose poultry yard has
been visited by these blood-thirsty creatures.
Weasels hunt by scent like hounds, and cover

26 Wild Bird Guests

great distances in a day, as anyone can prove
for himself if he will try to follow the trail of one
through the snow. To a certain extent, however,
they are the friends of wild birds since they often
kill other creatures, such as mice, rats, and
squirrels which are also enemies of birds. A
lady in Cornish, New Hampshire, tells me that
she once saw a weasel chase and capture a
chipmunk in an oak tree near her house and
then leap some ten feet to the ground with the
victim in its mouth.

A year or two ago the old farmhouse in which
we are living had become infested with rats,
when one autumn morning a white weasel or
ermine appeared in the woodshed. For a day
or two after that there was a terrible commotion
in the walls and ceilings, as the weasel chased his
squeaking prey from one stronghold to another
to finally kill them after a last desperate scuffle.
Then, when all the rats had been killed or driven
away, the weasel came into the house and made
himself at home. Mrs. Baynes was kind to him
and he soon became tame, taking food from her
hand and coming up into her lap to drink milk
from a saucer. He stayed until spring, when
he left the house never to return. In spite of the
good services they perform, however, I should
not consider weasels desirable neighbors for one

Destruction by Natural Enemies 27

who was trying to attract birds to the home
grounds.

Mink and skunks are probably much less
destructive to bird life. In the first place neither
of them climbs to any extent and their diet is
more varied. The mink operates chiefly along
streams and feeds very largely on fish, frogs, and
other aquatic creatures. Nevertheless, Audu-
bon states that in his day the mink in the salt
marshes of the south lived chiefly on marsh
hens and sharp-tailed finches, which they cap-
tured by springing upon them as a cat would
do. It is also known that they kill young wild
ducks, and Mr. William Brewster reports the
destruction of a colony of bank swallows by
mink.

Skunks are much slower in their movements
than their cousins the weasels, and probably
do much less harm to the birds. They seldom
attempt to climb and on the ground they are
neither clever enough to stalk a bird nor quick
enough to run out and catch one. What
damage they do is chiefly confined to the eggs
and young of birds which nest on the ground.
Even so, I should not regard the skunk as a
desirable tenant in a bird preserve.

Wolverines, like bears, probably destroy such
nests as they accidentally find, but these animals

28 Wild Bird Guests

are not numerous enough to constitute a serious
danger to bird life.

Red squirrels are persistent robbers of the
nests of small birds, in spite of the fact that this
is disputed by certain well-known authorities.
That some red squirrels do not have the nest-
robbing habit is quite possible if not probable,
but the fact remains that as devourers of eggs
and young, red squirrels have few if any equals.
The first time I ever saw a red squirrel interfere
with a bird's nest was many years ago. I was
attracted by the frantic cries of a pair of scarlet
tanagers which had a nest in a pine tree in the
garden. I rushed out to see what the matter was
and discovered a red squirrel calmly seated on
the edge of the tanager's nest and eating one of
the eggs. He held it in his paws as he would a
nut and he was losing some of the white which
trickled from his jaws. I drove him away but he
soon returned and I felt obliged to shoot him —
the first creature of any kind which I had shot
in fifteen years. Since then I have known so
many nests to be destroyed by red squirrels that
I will not allow one of these animals in my gar-
den or in any other place where I am trying to at-
tract birds. My friend Frederic H. Kennard,
a trained ornithologist and a careful observer,
has many times seen red squirrels destroy the

Destruction by Natural Enemies 29

homes of birds. Such destruction has been
seen by many other naturalists, some of whom
have seen red squirrels bite off the heads of young
birds and eat out the brains as they would eat
the meat out of a nut.

Gray squirrels as a rule are not so destructive,
but there is positive proof that some of them at
least destroy birds' nests, and when they become
numerous in a particular locality and when other
food becomes scarce, probably they do not hesi-
tate to eat either eggs or nestlings.

Chipmunks often destroy the nests of birds
which build on or near the ground or in artificial
arbors, and have been seen carrying off young
birds in their mouths. Usually they do not
climb enough to disturb birds which make their
homes in trees.

Flying squirrels are gentle little creatures
which probably seldom if ever destroy eggs or
young birds, though they often make their homes
in deserted birds' nests, in hollow trees, and even
in nest boxes.

Muskrats are said to eat the eggs of birds
nesting near water and in the marshes, but
though I have lived where muskrats were plenti-
ful, I have never seen any evidence of it.

That common rats are often very destructive
to the eggs and young of domestic poultry is

30 Wild Bird Guests

well known, and there seems to be no good reason
to believe that they would spare any young wild
birds which they found unprotected. They are
excellent climbers, our native black rat being
almost the equal of a squirrel in this respect.

Whether our wild mice and shrews are destruc-
tive to bird life or not is a question on which we
have little information. They are all more or less
carnivorous, and white-footed mice at least are
wonderful climbers, using their tails as well as
their clever little feet. The dormouse of Europe
is known to be destructive to birds, and it would
be rather strange if creatures so similar in other
habits were entirely guiltless of nest robbing.

Much of what has been said about raccoons
may be said with equal truth about opossums.
While not among the principal enemies of birds,
it is safe to say that they destroy practically all
nests which they discover in their daily search
for food.

Many birds prey more or less upon other birds,
but comparatively few seriously reduce the bird
population.

Shrikes, especially northern shrikes in winter
are sometimes very destructive to small birds.
Some observers state that shrikes make a
specialty of killing European sparrows, and to
whatever extent they do this they are friends of

Destruction by Natural Enemies 31

our native birds. But that they do not confine
themselves to sparrows there is plenty of evi-
dence. In the village of Meriden, New Hamp-
shire, where we make special efforts to attract
birds by feeding them in winter, shrikes cause
us a lot of trouble. One winter we fed great
numbers of pine grosbeaks. They are naturally
fearless birds and became very tame under
kindly treatment. The shrikes were so bold
that they would attack the grosbeaks under our
very noses. A neighbor, Mr. Lewis Stickney,
who fed a large flock of birds, saw a shrike kill
two in his garden. One of these was feeding
on the window-sill under the roof of the piazza.
Though the shrike was possibly an inch and a half
the longer of the two, it could hardly have been
so heavy as the plump, well-fed grosbeak, yet
the butcher bird actually carried off its victim.
After carrying it for a few feet he dropped it in
the snow, picked it up, dropped it again, and
then perhaps getting a firmer grip, carried it
for fully four hundred feet before disappearing.
I have been obliged to shoot several shrikes in
my own garden where they come for the chicka-
dees and other small birds which we always
have in numbers. I once saw a shrike pursue
a chickadee from point to point in the bushes
until the little titmouse lost his head and flew

32 Wild Bird Guests

out over the open country. The shrike was
after him instantly and quickly overtook him
and bore him to the earth. And it is very appar-
ent that the small birds know their enemy and
fear him. As soon as he is seen, the pine gros-
beaks fly up in alarm and scatter to the four
winds ; but when some chickadee gives the fright-
ened squawk which in winter usually means a
shrike, nearly all the other chickadees "freeze"
wherever they happen to be — in a food house,
the window box, or in the shrubbery. And they
often remain rigid for as much as five minutes or
more, allowing us to go close up and photograph
them with the camera only a few inches away.

Crackles are well known to be persistent rob-
bers of nests. Where there are large colonies
of these strange-faced, yellow-eyed birds it is
probable that many nestling songsters are taken
to feed the young grackles.

That blue jays are even more destructive
is the belief of many observers. One famous
ornithologist told me recently that it was his
private opinion that every individual blue jay
was a nest robber, and if he is even nearly cor-
rect, the loss of bird life from this one cause alone
must be considerable, for in the greater part of
eastern North America the blue jay is a common
bird.

Destruction by Natural Enemies 33

Crows, useful as they are at most seasons,
often get the nest-robbing habit, and when they
do they become a source of great distress and
disaster to the small birds. A few of these, like
the kingbird and red-winged blackbird, seemingly
by the great vigor of their attacks, are able to
drive the crows away, but many others fail to
do this and their nests are pillaged with impunity.
Many a time in the breeding season have I seen
a crow sneaking through the trees and bushes
where he had no legitimate business, evidently
hunting for birds' nests, but with no positive
evidence against him until the frantic cries of
parent birds called attention to the thief flying
off with the nestlings in his bill. Not long ago
a crow came into a garden on the main street of
Meriden, and was seen flying off with his bill
filled to overflowing with young robins. He had
carried off the whole brood at once. Not all
crows perhaps have the nest-robbing habit, but
those which do are not only destructive them-
selves but may possibly spread the habit among
their brethren.

Some of the owls also are destructive to
smaller birds, but usually their vices are not
unmixed with virtues. For instance, the great
horned owl, while he sometimes kills crows and
grouse and other useful birds, is a notorious

34 Wild Bird Guests

destroyer of skunks, and probably weasels, and
other bird enemies. The screech owl undoubt-
edly kills many small birds, some no doubt while
they are asleep on their roosts; others are
probably dragged from their nests. From the
wing and tail feathers often found in the nests
of screech owls it would seem that they capture
a good many flickers.

But of the birds of prey in this country,
Cooper's hawk and the sharp-shinned hawk are
perhaps, all things considered, the very worst.
Not only does each individual kill and devour a
great number of small birds, but these hawks are
common over a wide range and thus constitute
a serious check upon the increase of other birds.
There are several other kinds of hawks, the
duck hawk, for example, which are just as savage
and individually just as destructive, but they
are uncommon and therefore have but slight
effect on the bird population of the country.

The sharp-shin is a small, silent, fast-flying
hawk that suddenly appears seemingly from
nowhere, descends like a flash of lightning upon
some small bird in the grass, or dashes into the
foliage of a tree or bush to emerge a moment
later with a limp song sparrow, thrush, or other
little songster in his talons. In a field close to
my house I saw a sharp-shinned hawk catch and

vtmcng

Destruction by Natural Enemies 35

kill a blue jay almost as large as itself and
several times I have shot one of these birds as
he was pursuing bird guests in my garden.
Dr. A. K. Fisher, the great authority on Amer-
ican birds of prey, reports that he has exam-
ined the stomachs of 159 sharp-shinned hawks.
Fifty-two of them happened to be empty but of
the one hundred and seven which contained any
food, there were poultry or game birds in six and
other birds in ninety-nine. It is true that six of
these hawks had also eaten mice and that five
had eaten insects, but this does not alter the fact
that the principal food of practically all those
hawks consisted of birds.

The habits of Cooper's hawk are much the
same as those of the sharp-shin, and he is worse
simply because he is larger, more destructive to
poultry, and needs more birds to satisfy his
appetite. I once examined the stomachs of
five Cooper's hawks — a female and her four
young — in one day, and every one of them con-
tained parts of small birds. Most of our hawks
are very useful but many of them suffer severely
for the sins of these two.

Snapping turtles, which often grow to a large
size, are said to be destructive to waterfowl on
ponds and rivers. I have been told by poultry
keepers that these powerful reptiles will seize

36 Wild Bird Guests

ducks by the legs and drag them under the water.
Mr. E. A. Quarles, an officer of the American
Game Protective and Propagation Association,
told me of a snapping turtle which he knew had
killed fifteen young wood ducks, and Mr. C. H.
Pease of Canaan, Connecticut, showed me a
photograph of a full-grown duck which he and
his wife had seen mangled and killed by a snap-
ping turtle. The duck was feeding with its head
under the water, and the reptile seized the head
in its powerful jaws and crushed it.

Snakes are notorious devourers of young birds.
They are splendid climbers and thus are able to
rob nests built in trees and bushes as well as those
on the ground. The skulls of snakes are loosely
put together and the muscular tissue which
binds them is very elastic. This permits them
to be stretched to an almost unbelievable
extent and is the secret of a snake's ability to
swallow creatures much larger than his own
head. I once caught a milk snake at a catbird's
nest with a fully fledged young catbird just
disappearing down its throat. Needless to say
the meal was interrupted. The snake, which I
afterwards measured, was twenty-seven inches
long. The common black snake, perhaps be-
cause of its large size, is one of the most de-
structive. Some years ago I was approaching a

Destruction by Natural Enemies 37

clearing in the woods when I heard two parent
song sparrows uttering frantic cries, and as I came
up I saw a large black snake make off and dis-
appear under a pile of brush. Close to the point
where I had first seen it, lay a fledgling song
sparrow, which the snake had just prepared
for swallowing. Its body seemed to have been
squeezed out until it was long and narrow and it
was wet with the slimy saliva with which some
snakes cover their prey before swallowing it.

Large bullfrogs have been known to swallow
young birds, but I do not believe that they are
anywhere a serious menace to bird life.

Pike and certain other large fish sometimes
capture waterfowl and at certain times and
places may be very destructive. Edward Howe
Forbush once saw a pied-billed grebe which was
watching a hawk, spring out of the water to
escape a pickerel which had tried to seize it by
the feet.

One might think that with so many natural
enemies, and with the wholesale destruction of
bird life by the elements, there would soon be
no birds left. Yet it is a fact that all the storms
that sweep the earth and all the natural enemies,
including savage people, would seldom make any
lasting impression on the normal bird population,
if it were not for civilized man and his works.

38 Wild Bird Guests

To be sure some kinds of birds become very much
reduced in numbers owing to severe storms, but
these very disastrous storms do not occur every
year and in the meantime the natural increase
makes up the losses. And among the birds and
their natural enemies, nature preserves so nice
a balance, that as a rule no one species gets very
much ahead of another until civilized man steps
in. Civilized man has many needs and many
desires and displays great ingenuity in supply-
ing the needs and gratifying the desires. When
these needs or desires involve the destruction of
animal life, the fine balance which would other-
wise be preserved by nature is apt to be de-
stroyed, and the next chapter will tell some of the
ways by which civilized man becomes directly
and indirectly, perhaps the most dangerous of
all bird enemies.

CHAPTER IV

DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS BY MAN

SAVAGE tribes not influenced by civilization
seldom cause a serious decrease in the numbers
of birds about them. They usually kill only
what they need for their own immediate use — as
food and clothing and to a smaller extent orna-
ment, and even though they may not be re-
strained by feelings of humanity or a desire to be
provident, their weapons are usually so crude
that they cannot inflict wholesale destruction
upon any species. Sometimes, as in the case of
the Esquimaux, they gather large quantities of
the eggs of certain kinds of birds, but usually
these birds are present in such vast numbers, the
Esquimau population is so small, and the other
bird enemies so few, that no noticeable impres-
sion is made upon the colonies of little auks and
other birds whose eggs are taken.

But when civilized man creates a market for
the flesh or plumage of the birds hunted by the
savage, the latter is often urged to help to

39

40 Wild Bird Guests

supply that market. Then he may become a
very dangerous enemy of the birds. When he
has supplied his own needs, his work is not done;
it is never done; he has those big markets to
supply, and the more birds he kills the more he
will be paid for, so it is to his advantage to kill
all he can. And he goes on killing until there
are no more birds to kill, or, until for some reason
there is no more demand for them and therefore
it no longer pays him to kill them. The head-
hunting natives of Borneo and other islands
of the same group have hunted and killed the
wonderful birds of paradise to supply feathers for
women's hats until some species are extinct and
all others in danger of extinction.

But as destroyers of bird life civilized men are
infinitely more dangerous than savages. Their
most peaceful activities mean serious interference
with the birds. They begin to clear the land of
the forests growing upon it and the homes of
millions of birds go down before the axe. They
drain the marshes and vast numbers of other
birds are not only driven out of their homes, but
are deprived of their favorite feeding grounds.
They erect lighthouses which every year lure
thousands of birds to their destruction. The
light on the Statue of Liberty in New York
Harbor has been responsible for great loss of bird

Destruction by Man 41

life. It is said that on one morning soon after its
erection, there were picked up at its base one
thousand four hundred birds which had been
killed the night before.

The thousands of miles of telegraph, tele-
phone, electric light, and trolley wires, stretched
in every direction across civilized countries, kill
many birds which accidentally fly against them.
More than once I have picked up dead snipe
immediately below telegraph wires, and a neigh-
bor recently picked up a badly wounded wood-
cock beneath the telephone wire in his garden.
Tall wire fences are another cause of destruction.
Close to a small inclosure one hundred feet
square and surrounded by wire netting six feet
high, I picked up in one summer five dead or
wounded birds. The eight-and-a-half-foot wire
fence surrounding the Corbin Game Preserve in
New Hampshire probably accounts for the lives
of many birds every year. I walked around it
one day and in the twenty-seven miles I flushed
a number of ruffed grouse. Five of them dashed
right into the fence, some of them with such
force as to leave tufts of feathers clinging to the
wires. None of these birds happened to kill
itself, but employees of the Corbins tell me that
they have many times picked up dead grouse
along the fence. A few days ago a boy working

42 Wild Bird Guests

on the road near the Park brought me a dying
hermit thrush which he thought had been
injured in this way.

Then civilized man is chiefly responsible,
either directly or indirectly, for the terrible
forest fires, which not only destroy the homes
and food supply of millions of birds, but at
times, as in the nesting season, must cause the
immediate destruction of all young birds within
the burning area and probably many of the old
ones as well. Perhaps even greater destruction
is wrought by the great autumn fires, which
lure hosts of migrants to their doom. They
become bewildered and fall into the flames.
Not long ago, Mr. Nathan C. Schaeffer, Super-
intendent of Public Instruction, made an earnest
appeal to the school children of Pennsylvania
for help in the prevention of forest fires. He
pointed out many of the evils of such fires and
among them the fact that they destroy "all
the birds' nests and their eggs and the young
birds."

Of course much of this destruction is not to
be avoided. We must clear the land in order
that we may have farms and cities; we must
drain the marshes for the same reason and as a
matter of public health, and the lighthouses,
telegraph wires, and fences follow as a matter of

Destruction by Man 43

course. Fires are unnecessary and often avoid-
able, but even these are generally the result of
accident and are comparatively seldom set with
any intention to injure the birds.

Nor are men to blame for killing such birds as
they actually need for food. The early settlers
were obliged to hunt in order to live, and water-
fowl and what are commonly known as game
birds played an important part in saving our
ancestors from starvation. In those early days
wild ducks and geese, wild turkeys, wild pigeons,
grouse, and quail were here in countless numbers,
and as the number of people in the country was
for a long time comparatively small, the birds
they took for food were never missed from the
numberless flocks and coveys which dotted the
waters and swarmed in the forests. In fact for
many years the settlers might have been counted
among the friends of the birds, because they
also killed off mountain lions, wild cats, wolves,
foxes, raccoons, opossums, and other natural
enemies that would doubtless have destroyed
more birds than were taken by the hunters.
But gradually, very gradually at first, the tide
changed against the birds. As more and more
people thronged to our shores, more and more
food was needed to sustain them. Birds were
easy to get and cheap to buy and they were

44 Wild Bird Guests

killed and sold. Hundreds of towns and cities
grew up, great markets were established, and
more and more gunners took the field every year
in order to supply those markets. Professional
game dealers came into existence and professional
market gunners took up their trade and saw to
it that they were well supplied with birds. At
first the game dealers would not buy more than
could be used within a few days, that is before it
spoiled, but presently the system of cold storage
was invented and there seemed to be no limit to
the quantity which would be bought and stored
away. Another class of men, the sportsmen,
also began to kill the birds, not because they
actually needed them for food but because they
found pleasure and recreation in hunting them.
Nor were the game birds the only ones to suffer.
With the coming of certain fashions in dress came
a demand for bird plumage for women's hats
and another class of bird killers, known as plume-
hunters, sprang into existence. These men
made a practice of shooting any kind of bird for
which the milliners had a market. At one time
it was grebes, at another gulls and terns, snowy
herons, or bright-colored song birds like orioles
and scarlet tanagers.

To supply this ever-increasing army of shoot-
ers great gun factories were established and the

Destruction by Man 45

ingenuity of many inventors was applied to the
making of more effective guns — weapons with
which men could kill more birds. The old
flint-lock was replaced with a more reliable gun
discharged by means of a cap. The muzzle-load-
ing gun gave way to a breech-loading gun, which
could be fired three times as fast. Then came
the double-barrelled breech-loader, nearly twice
as deadly as the single-barrelled, and this was
followed by the " pump " gun and automatic shot
guns said to be about ten times as effective as
the old muzzle-loader.

Before these weapons in the hands of thou-
sands of men, the wild fowl disappeared like
snow before a summer wind, some of them never
to return. The great auk, a flightless sea-bird
inhabiting the coasts and islands of the North
Atlantic, was the first to become extinct. From
early times it had been the victim of attacks by
voyagers and fishermen who killed it for its
flesh, feathers, and oil. The fact that it nested in
large colonies and that it could not fly resulted
in its being destroyed in great numbers. It
held its own fairly well, however, until its plum-
age came into demand for feather beds when it
disappeared. No living specimen has been seen
since 1842.

The Labrador duck was the next to go, but in

46 Wild Bird Guests

this case the cause of extinction is not known.
Probably it was never a very numerous species.
The gunners may have had something to do with
its disappearance, for about the middle of last
century it was often seen in the markets. It was
not, however, considered very desirable for food,
and it is hardly likely that there was sufficient
demand for it to endanger its existence. Pos-
sibly it was wiped out by some disease such
as the epidemic which has recently played such
havoc among the wild ducks and other marsh
birds in Utah and which we shall speak of else-
where. But whatever the cause, no living
Labrador duck has been seen since 1871.

The extermination of the passenger pigeon,
however, was wholly due to the selfish greed of
man. It is said that in the early part of last
century this was probably the most numerous
bird on the North American continent. In
order to get a faint idea of the numbers of the
passenger pigeon in the time of Alexander Wilson,
the ornithologist, let us imagine, if we can, just
one such flock as he observed near Frankfort,
Kentucky, about 1808. The birds moved in a
column, whose front was more than a mile in
width, and, flying at the rate of a mile a minute,
they took four long hours to pass. Wilson, who
was an accurate observer, after a careful calcu-

Destruction by Man 47

lation, estimated that this one flock contained
at least two billion, two hundred and thirty
million, two hundred and seventy-two thou-
sand pigeons.

Audubon also gives a grand account of the
armies of the passenger pigeon as observed by
him. In 1813, while riding from Henderson to
Louisville, he noticed the pigeons flying over in
even greater numbers than usual, and dismounted
that he might attempt to count the number of
detached flocks which passed him in an hour.
In twenty-one minutes he gave up the task as
impracticable. He says, "I travelled on, and
still the air was literally filled with pigeons ; the
light of the noonday sun was obscured as if by
an eclipse, and the continual buzz of the wings
had a tendency to lull my senses to repose."
It would seem that nothing man could do would
greatly diminish such countless multitudes as
these, especially when Audubon assures us that
they at least doubled their number and not in-
frequently quadrupled them yearly. But alas,
the pigeons were easy to get, they had a market
value, and it was not against the law to kill them,
and this combination would have insured their
extermination had there been a hundred times
as many. The fact that they roosted and nested
in vast densely-packed colonies greatly simplified

48 Wild Bird Guests

matters for the destroyers, and though the birds
were killed wherever they were seen, the great
slaughters occurred at the roosts and at the
nesting grounds.

In the time of Wilson and Audubon, one single
colony of pigeons would sometimes occupy a
forest forty miles long and perhaps three to four
wide, every available tree of which would be
laden to the breaking point with the nests. Wil-
son counted upwards of ninety nests in a single
tree, and some trees contained more than a hun-
dred. Each nest soon contained one or two fat
squabs. Every morning the parent birds started
for their feeding grounds, vast forests of beech or
oak trees perhaps, possibly two or three hundred
miles away; and from noon until late in the
afternoon they came pouring in with well-laden
crops. Then the pigeon harvest was ripe, and
armies of people, men, women, and children from
the surrounding country, came in to gather it.
Some brought tents, that they might camp upon
the scene, and others came with sacks, baskets,
and barrels, in which to collect the spoils, and
horses and wagons with which to remove them.
Then began a fearful massacre, in which no one
thought of anything save how he could secure the
greatest number of pigeons in the shortest space
of time. Some used guns, others clubs or long

Destruction by Man 49

poles with which to beat down the frantic pigeons,
and still others suffocated the birds with pots
of burning sulphur. The fat squabs in the nests
were considered even more desirable prizes than
the old birds, and scores of men spent their entire
time in throwing to the ground, by means of long
poles, all the nests within reach. Others, for
whom this method was too slow, attacked the
trees with axes, bringing down a hundred nests
at once.

Eye-witnesses testify that the spectacle was
an awful one. Savage Indians, and still more
savage white men, with many women and
children, all engaged in killing birds. With
hands and faces smeared with blood, and with
feathers sticking in their clothing, many o£
them looked scarce human in the uncertain light,
as they ran back and forth over the slippery
ground, shouting at the tops of their voices
in order to make themselves heard above the
thundering roar created by the wings of millions
of pigeons. All night long this awful slaughter
continued, and at dawn the woods were seen to
be carpeted with dead and dying birds. Sneak-
ing away through the shadows of the woods
could be seen the dim forms of mountain lions,
foxes, wild cats, skunks, and other night prowlers,
and then in the air would appear eagles and

50 Wild Bird Guests

hawks and vultures coming for their share of
the feast.

The slaughtered pigeons were gathered up and
piled in heaps until everyone had all he could
cart away, and then droves of hogs, sometimes
driven from long distances, were turned into the
woods to fatten on the remainder.

Year after year the massacres were repeated,
the unfortunate pigeons being followed from one
breeding ground to another, and that they were
not exterminated years ago, is due solely to the
fact that the remaining few became so scat-
tered that it no longer paid anyone to pursue
them.

In addition to those destroyed at the breeding
grounds, hundreds of thousands of old birds were
trapped in "clap nets," upwards of three hun-
dred sometimes being taken in a single haul, and
one man being able to catch perhaps six thou-
sand in a day. Many were sent by schooner-
loads to New York, where they were sold at one
time for one cent apiece, and they were so cheap
in some places that the hogs were fed on them.

They have gone, and America has nothing to
show for her loss unless it be additional proof
of the fact that no bird, no matter how numer-
ous or how prolific, can long hold its own if it is
repeatedly attacked on its breeding grounds.

^^^

Destruction by Man 51

Several attempts were made to save the
passenger pigeons by rearing flocks of them in
confinement, but these attempts served only to
postpone for a few years the absolute extinction
of the bird. A flock was established at Woods
Hole, Massachusetts, for a time by Professor C.
O. Whitman of Chicago University, and another
occupied a large cage in the Cincinnati Zo-
ological Park, where I have several times visited
what is believed to have been the last survivor
of its race. This bird, a female, was in cap-
tivity for more than a quarter of a century
and died only recently.

The Esquimau curlew is now believed to be
extinct or nearly so, and again the selfishness of
man is to blame. This curlew was, as its other
common name, dough bird, implies, a delicious
table fowl, and its demand for the market was
the chief cause of its extermination.

Though its actual numbers were probably
never so large as those of the passenger pigeon,
they must have been very great. Dense flocks
of these birds said to contain millions were often
reported at points along the Atlantic coast
during the earlier half of last century, and an
immense flight in Labrador in 1833 actually
reminded Audubon of the passenger pigeon
itself.

52 Wild Bird Guests

The Esquimau curlews nested from Alaska to
Labrador, the favorite breeding place being the
Barren Grounds of Northwestern Canada. They
wintered in Argentina and Patagonia, and every
fall the birds appeared in almost unbelievable
flocks in Labrador and Newfoundland and the
Magdalen Islands, where the fishermen killed
great numbers and salted them down in barrels.
The curlews then proceeded to Nova Scotia
where they left the land and headed for South
America by way of the West Indies. On the
Magdalen Islands and perhaps elsewhere they
roosted in dense masses on the high beach, and
men armed with sticks and carrying lanterns to
dazzle the birds slaughtered them by wholesale.
Nor did they receive any better treatment on
the New England coast, where after buffeting a
cold northeast storm until they were exhausted,
they alighted in misplaced confidence to rest.
Their arrival was the signal for men and boys to
chase and beat them down with clubs, or for the
market-hunters and other gunners to shoot them
as long as one remained on shore. In 1872 they
were killed in such numbers on Cape Cod that
the 'boys sold them as low as six cents apiece.
Even at such prices some of the market-hunters
sold hundreds of dollars worth. It is little won-
der that the curlews at last learned to shun

Destruction by Man 53

the New England coast as a deadly region, to be
visited only at night and then only when they
were too exhausted to continue their flight.

After spending the winter in South America,
the dough birds went back to their northern
homes by a different route, by way of the Gulf
States, and in the spring months were seen in
great numbers on the western prairies and in
the Mississippi Valley. But they fared no bet-
ter in the west than they did in New England
and were massacred wherever they went. If
one was wounded and cried out, many of its
companions would at once come and hover over
it, and this habit must have helped in its destruc-
tion by cowboys and others.

The Esquimau curlew was doomed. Its num-
bers began to diminish rather slowly at first,
but rapidly later on. The great flights became
less and less frequent and smaller and smaller in
size until at last they ceased and the bird is now
believed to be practically extinct. Specimens
are still shot occasionally; an individual was
taken as late as September 5, 1913, at East
Orleans, Massachusetts.

Besides these birds which have gone forever,
there are a number more which have been per-
secuted until they have disappeared from the
greater part of their former range and in some

54 Wild Bird Guests

cases are so reduced in numbers that they will
probably soon be extinct. Among these are the
trumpeter swan, the whooping crane, and the
Carolina paraquet. The last named is believed
by some authorities to be extinct already, but
Frederic H. Kennard, in a recent visit to Florida,
satisfied himself that there are a very few left
in that State. He did not see the birds, but
by carefully sifting the evidence of a number
of residents, he learned of the existence of at
least seven individuals. According to Frank M.
Chapman, the extermination of the paraquet was
due chiefly to four causes. He says, "first, it
was destructive to fruit orchards, and for this
reason was killed by agriculturists; second, it
was trapped and bagged in enormous numbers
by professional bird-catchers ; third, it has been
killed in myriads for its plumage; and fourth,
it has been wantonly slaughtered by so-called
sportsmen. In short, in the present century,
the paraquet has always disappeared soon after
its haunts were invaded by civilized man."

There are many other birds which have been
reduced in numbers to the danger point, but I
will mention but two more — the great white
heron and the snowy egret, both of which were
once distributed over a wide range extending
from Northern South America to New England,

Destruction by Man 55

and which were numerous in many places such
as Florida and the Mississippi Valley. They
have been extirpated over a very large part of
this range and that they are not extinct is due
to the passing of rigid laws for their protection,
to the setting aside as bird refuges by executive
order, certain suitable tracts of lands where the
birds might live and nest in peace, and by the
patriotic efforts of a few private individuals
who have established sanctuaries for the herons.
The curse of these birds was the beautiful
plumes or "aigrettes" which they wore only in
the nesting season and which for this reason
have often been called the "bridal" plumes.
The story of the destruction of these herons
for their plumage is perhaps the most dishearten-
ing and certainly the saddest of any connected
with the killing of wild birds in this country.
The herons nested in large colonies and the men
employed by the feather dealers to obtain the
plumes, would visit these colonies when the nest-
ing season was at its height and when the
mother love of the parent birds was so strong
that no amount of shooting would make them
leave the place. Here, usually with small
noiseless rifles, the herons were shot down as they
came in from the feeding ground with food for
their young, as they sat upon their nests, or some-

56 Wild Bird Guests

times as they came in attracted by a wounded
comrade tied to a stake in the swamp as a decoy.
The plumes were then stripped from their backs
and the bodies left to rot. Sad as this is, it is by
no means the saddest part of the story. The
young birds which occupied most of the nests at
this season, and which were of course entirely
dependent on their parents for food, were left
to starve to death after pitifully calling, some-
times for days, for their parents who lay in the
swamp beneath with their backs torn out, that wo-
men might wear the looted plumes in their hats.

If anything could be more outrageous than
this, surely it is the recent massacre of birds on
the Island of Laysan. In order to give an intel-
ligent idea of this affair, it is necessary to say a
few words about the island itself.

To most of us the word "Laysan" means little
if anything more than a tiny dot on the map,
indicating the position of a wee coral island in the
Pacific about eight hundred miles northwest by
west from Honolulu ; but to the men who have
been there, the mere mention of it brings to the
mind a hundred pictures representing the joys
and sorrows, the festivals and the tragedies in the
lives of myriad birds which comprise perhaps
the most unique community of feathered beings
on the face of the earth. It is one of many tiny

Destruction by Man 57

islets, rocks, and reefs, which like so many truant
children, straggle off from the main Hawaiian
group in the direction of Japan; specks of land
insignificant enough perhaps when judged by
human standards, but great residential centers
and nurseries for the unnumbered sea-fowl which
call them "home/' The great white albatross,
King of the Pacific, whom we see on tireless wing,
levying tribute on the very borders of his do-
mains, carries in his brain a chart of these islands,
and he has his capital at Laysan. How long this
islet has been inhabited by its feathered popula-
tion no man can tell, but doubtless for ages.
Small as it is, barely three miles long, it was a
few years ago the home of millions of birds,
including five species found nowhere else in
the world. Practically every square yard was
occupied, and thousands of late comers were
obliged to go away because there was no room for
them. In fact there are so many bird homes on
Laysan, that the tenants are obliged to live in
tenement fashion, some underground in burrows,
others on the surface, and others still in the
bushes above. And quite unlike other bird
homes, these are used all the year round ; not by
the same tenants to be sure, for at the very
moment when the families of one species are
ready to move out, those of another species are

58 Wild Bird Guests

waiting to move in. There is no "quiet" season
in Laysan; it is the scene of strange and ceaseless
activity from year's end to year's end, forever.

This, in a general way, is the impression I got
from a story told me by Mr. Walter K. Fisher,
the ornithologist who formed one of the party
aboard the U. S. Fish Commission Steamer
Albatross, which from March to August, 1902,
was engaged in deep-sea explorations among the
Hawaiian Islands.

Standing on a pile of phosphate rock not far
from a little pond, one could overlook the largest
colony of white albatrosses on the island and
probably the largest in the world. At certain
times of the day this whole section was literally
white with the snowy plumage of these great
sea-birds, actually numbering more than a
million individuals. Overhead one might see
and hear tens of thousands of terns, apparently
all screaming at once and creating such a vol-
ume of bewildering noise that one was obliged
to shout in order to make oneself heard. In
another part of the island there were colonies
of the black-footed albatross, which while not
so numerous, would have been considered re-
markable almost anywhere else but in Laysan.
Birds' eggs were everywhere, and it was prac-
tically impossible to move about without de-

Destruction by Man 59

stroying some. They were in the grass and the
bushes, on the ground by hundreds of thousands,
and in many places it was difficult to walk on
account of the burrows of petrels and shearwaters
into which one would sink to the knees at almost
every step. There were birds overhead, birds
under foot, peering from every bush and from
behind every tussock of grass, scuttling about
over the ground after food or with flopping wings
attempting to lead the stranger from the vicinity
of their homes. Red-tailed tropic birds, boobies,
man-o'-war birds, rails, teal, bristle-thighed
curlews, golden plovers, trunstones, honey-eaters,
finches, and miller-birds, each species busy with
its own affairs, which not infrequently involved
interference with the affairs of others.

And more remarkable perhaps even than the
great numbers of the birds was their tameness.
The great albatrosses would literally meet a
visitor half-way and gather about him, gently
examining the texture of his clothing with their
bills and in other ways seeming to take as much
interest in his affairs as he did in theirs.

Mr. Fisher's experience with the Laysan rail
will give some idea of how trustful of man birds
may be if they never have cause to regard him as
an enemy. This tiny brown bird is flightless;
its wings are not used at all except when the rail

60 Wild Bird Guests

is hopping to a perch or hurrying very fast, at
which times they are spread somewhat as a
domestic fowl's wings are spread under similar
circumstances. On one occasion Mr. Fisher was
about to photograph the nest and eggs of one
of these birds and for this purpose had parted and
propped back the juncus stems which hid it from
view. As he was about to make the exposure,
and with the camera only two feet away, the
little rail hopped back into the nest and in a
business-like way began to cover herself up with
the soft lining. Mr. Fisher photographed her
several times, but then desiring to get the picture
of the nest and eggs, he lifted her off, but at once
she slipped back and defeated his purpose. Then
with the black cloth he chased her away into the
tall grass a short distance, and hastened back to
the camera, but the little rail, as though deter-
mined that he should not get that picture if she
could help it, came skipping back and was into
the nest again before the exposure could be
made.

It would seem that here at least was a colony
of birds that need not fear the destructive hand
of man. They had sought a refuge hundreds of
miles from civilization, and by their presence and
their activities had made an insignificant little
island into one of the wonder spots of the world.

Destruction by Man 61

Beautiful, trustful, and defenseless, these inoffen-
sive creatures make a direct appeal to every
decent instinct, but as far as the plume-hunters
were concerned, the appeal was made in vain.
In the spring of 1909 a party of twenty-three of
these cold-blooded men landed on Laysan, and
began a work of slaughter which for heartless
cruelty has perhaps never been equalled by any-
one else engaged in this cruel business. Ap-
parently it was their intention to kill all the
birds on the island and they actually succeeded
in butchering three hundred thousand of these
innocent creatures before the United States
Government, in prompt response to a telegram
from Professor William A. Bryan of Honolulu,
sent the revenue cutter Thetis and stopped the
killing. Sad and almost unbelievable sights
greeted Captain Jacobs and the men of the Thetis.
Several acres which had been the site of teeming
colonies of industrious happy birds, were strewn
with bones and dead bodies. Car loads of feath-
ers, skins, and wings were ready for shipping, and
thousands of other wings were piled in a shed,
and it is the bitter truth that many of these wings
had been cut from the bodies of living birds
which had then been allowed to run away to
bleed to death. But the wretches who did this
thing — I cannot bring myself to call them men —

62 Wild Bird Guests

went farther than this. They put hundreds of
sea-birds in a dry cistern and allowed them to
slowly starve to death, because in starving they
would use up the fatty tissue stored next to the
skin, leaving the skin free from grease and there-
fore much easier to prepare. These birds were
tortured to supply the millinery trade which
some people still dare to uphold ; and the mil-
linery trade required them because thoughtless
women insisted on wearing these badges of
cruelty in their hats.

When I see women wearing the plumage of
wild birds, I wonder if they have normal brains,
or indeed whether they have any brains at all.
It seems impossible that they should, in this day,
still be ignorant of the misery they are causing,
and it seems equally impossible that if they do
know it they can be so heartless as to uphold and
prolong the cruel fashion.

Fortunately many good laws have recently
been passed in this country to protect the wild
birds formerly used for millinery purposes, and
when the other civilized governments are ready
to cooperate with our own we can have an
international law which will practically put a
stop to this traffic in wild-bird plumage. But it
cannot be flattering to the women who persist in
wearing plumage, to realize that it is necessary

Destruction by Man 63

for men to make laws to force them to give up
a cruel practice.

But it is not the plume-hunter alone who is
causing our remaining wild birds to disappear;
there are many other kinds of hunters. Of these
one of the worst is the so-called sportsman. I
use the word " so-called " to distinguish him from
the real sportsman who is one of the best pro-
tectors of birds we have. The real sportsman
is the man who is fond of the woods and fields,
and streams, and lakes, and who, when game
and fish are plentiful likes to get a little for him-
self or a friend, but who, when game shows signs
of decreasing, does his best in every way to pro-
tect it and insure its increase. The "so-called"
sportsman often seems to forget that anyone
else has an interest in the game; he sometimes
acts as though he owned it all, and proceeds to
take it all or as nearly all of it as he can get.
It never seems to occur to him that there is a
limit to the number of birds which it is fair for
him to shoot, even when they are plentiful, or
that he should refrain entirely from shooting
when they are scarce. He fights to prevent the
passage of any good law which may be framed
with a view to saving the sorely harassed birds,
if it in any way interferes with his own pleasure.
He shoots all the birds the law permits him to,

64 Wild Bird Guests

even when he knows that the law is unfair to the
birds and that they cannot hold their own against
it. If there is no law to stop him he kills all the
birds he can, and resorts to the use of automatic
and pump guns and other unfair weapons because
it is not "sport," but birds, that he is trying
to get. With such weapons as these in a place
where birds are plentiful, a man can kill from
two hundred to four hundred wild ducks or wild
geese in a day. The damage which can be
inflicted on game birds and waterfowl by this
class of gunner has been greatly increased by the
invention of the automobile and the power boat,
both of which enable him to hunt over a vastly
wider field in a given time than was possible
before.

As a destroyer of game birds the market-
hunter is perhaps the worst of all. Most other
gunners go hunting occasionally or for a few days
at a time, but the market-man makes a business
of hunting and if the law permits goes out every
day as long as there are any birds left to shoot.
Of course he uses the automatic and pump shot
guns, because with them he can get more birds
and more birds to him mean more money.

The farmers are to a large extent responsible
for the great decrease among our birds of prey.
They are not the only ones to blame for there are

Destruction by Man 65

many gunners who cannot resist the temptation
to shoot at large, conspicuous birds of any kind.
But the farmers, more than any others perhaps,
kill hawks and owls more or less systematically,
because they believe these birds, one and all,
to be destroyers of poultry. In one way it is
quite natural that they should believe this. It is
easy to notice a hawk come down into one's
poultry yard and fly away with a hen or even a
chicken which one knows by sight. And it is
easy to appreciate the loss because it is imme-
diate and definite, the value of the chicken being
known. But it is much less easy to keep in sight
that same hawk or another, as day after day he
picks up mice in the distant fields. And though
the gain to the farm through the destruction of
the mice may be many times greater than the loss
sustained by the killing of the chicken, the exact
amount of it is not known to the farmer and
moreover he does not get it at once. The one
thing that is really clear to him is that a hawk
has caused him a loss, and without looking any
farther he decides to prevent losses of that kind
by killing every hawk he sees. When laws are
passed to prevent the killing of birds, he sees
to it that the hawks are not included in the list
of birds protected by it, and sometimes he goes
farther than this and demands that a reward or

66 Wild Bird Guests

bounty be paid by the state for every hawk
killed.

The foreigners who come to our shores from
countries where people are not taught to respect
the rights of birds, are another great menace
to our feathered neighbors, especially to the song
birds. The lower classes of Italians are among
the worst of these offenders, and it will help
us to understand the problem if we glance at
conditions in their own country. In Italy not
even song birds are protected. In addition to
what we call game birds, thrushes, skylarks,
goldfinches, redstarts, siskins, crossbills, wood-
peckers, nuthatches, titmice, warblers, and scores
of others, are regarded as "game" and are sold
for food in every market in Italy. As shown
in the case of birds hunted for their plumage,
wherever there is a market to be supplied, there
will be people willing to supply it, and through-
out Italy there are thousands of men who do
nothing else but catch and kill song birds to be
eaten by their fellow-countrymen. Thousands
and tens of thousands are offered at from two
cents to five cents apiece threaded on strings and
sold in bunches as we sell beets or onions. Most
of these birds are brought in by professional bird-
catchers. Some of them are shot, some taken
with snares or bird lime, but probably by far the

Destruction by Man 67

\

greater number are captured in nets of various

kinds. Many of these nets are used in connec-
tions with what are known as roccolos, permanent
bird traps established in carefully chosen spots,
often situated on hillsides, in valleys, along
some natural migration route. Roccolos vary
in size, and some are more elaborate than others,
but the essentials are a clump or grove of trees
to invite the attention of passing birds, a few
little songsters to call and make the place appear
homelike, a net of fine threads to entangle the
victims of this treachery, and the fowler, who kills
the captured birds and sells them to be eaten.
The fowler or keeper of the roccolo lives close by
in a little building which sometimes takes the
form of a tower from which he can watch the
nets, and in which he deposits his catch in a pile
on the floor.

Hidden from view by the screen of trees,
hang a number of small cages containing little
birds whose eyes have been burned out with
red-hot wires, because blind birds call more
often than those which can see. These wretched
little prisoners by their calls, and by their song,
for they sing too at times, all unknowingly lure
the wild birds to their death. If birds come near,
but hesitate on the outside trees, the fowler, by
means of a sort of raquet thrown through the air,

68 Wild Bird Guests

makes a sound like the whistling of a hawk's
wings, and down plunge the frightened song
birds to their doom. As they struggle in the net,
the fowler comes forth from his hidding place,
seizes them roughly, kills them by thrusting a
sharpened stick through their heads, and tosses
their pathetic little bodies on top of the growing
heap on the floor of his dwelling. And there
are hundreds of such roccolos, each of them
destroying thousands — many of them tens of
thousands of birds during a single migration.
Is it any wonder that the Italians have no song
birds of their own? This terrible trade can be
carried on now only because many of the migra-
tory birds from other parts of Europe come down
through Italy in order to shorten their flight
across the Mediterranean. Is it any wonder
that ignorant Italian laborers, fresh from a
country where this sort of thing is not only
permitted but encouraged, should, on landing
here, make themselves a set of snares and a wad of
bird lime, buy cheap guns, and set out to catch
and kill anything and everything that wears
feathers? They are not necessarily either bad
or lawless. Many of them land in this country
which they have been taught is the freest in the
world, probably never doubting that they have
at least as much right to kill things here as they

Destruction by Man 69

had in Italy. They cannot read our books and
papers and when they meet a game warden they
do not know who he is nor what he is saying;
they only understand in a general way that he is
trying to stop them from doing what they think
they have a perfect right to do. They are
naturally hot-tempered and quick to resent what
they believe to be an injustice, and serious trouble
for the game warden is often the result. I
remember a few years ago, watching a surgeon
removing shot from the face of a policeman who
had been shot by an Italian poacher in the
Middlesex Fells Reservation, near Boston. He
had chased the man, who deliberately turned
around and let him have both barrels. I am
not defending the Italian shooter of song birds.
He is doing wrong and we must absolutely stop
him, but we shall be able to do this in a wiser,
surer way if we understand the kind of man we
have to deal with, and realize that he is not
entirely to blame for his attitude toward our
wild life. In another chapter I shall give some
suggestions for dealing with this problem.

The negroes and poor-white folks of our south-
ern states are even worse than the ignorant
foreigners, for they slaughter our song birds, not
by scores but by hundreds and sometimes by
thousands. Sad to say, robins and other songsters

70 Wild Bird Guests

are still ruthlessly destroyed in many of on*
southern states. They are killed for food and
the negroes and poor whites supply the mar-
kets. When the holly berries are ripe, the robins
gather by tens of thousands to feed upon them
and their coming is the signal for every negro
who can afford a three-dollar gun to get out
and shoot them. The robins are also very
fond of cedar berries, and during the winter
months where these are plentiful, they gather
in immense flocks. The fact that they roost in
the cedars at night, makes possible another form
of slaughter. Men and boys with torches each
climb a tree while companions with poles and
clubs disturb the robins and cause them to fly
about. Dazzled by the torches, the sleepy
robins fly to the torch-bearer who kills them by
either pinching their necks or pulling their heads
off, and drops their bodies into a bag. Three
or four hundred birds represent a fair night's
work for a man, and sometimes there are a
hundred or more men engaged. The contribu-
tion of a single southern village in a year will
sometimes amount to hundreds of thousands of
birds and there are many villages. It is hardly
to be wondered at if we fail to see large numbers
of robins on our lawns in the spring.

The ignorant southern negroes are a problem

Destruction by Man 71

in themselves. In the nesting season or out of it,
it makes no difference to them. In gangs, large
and small, armed with cheap guns and followed
by mongrel "bird" dogs, they rake the country,
killing everything that flies or runs. Worst of
all, perhaps, they burn over large tracts of land,
destroying the natural cover for the birds, mak-
ing it easy to pot the few which might otherwise
have found shelter at the time, and preventing
the area from being used as a breeding ground or
as a refuge for years to come. Nevertheless,
thanks to improved laws, to campaigns of edu-
cation, and to a firmer stand taken by the culti-
vated people of the South, matters are much
better than they were a few years ago, and the
outlook for the future is hopeful.

Lumber camps and mining camps are often
responsible for the local extermination of certain
birds. When, as often happens, such camps are
at a considerable distance from a large town, it is
difficult and expensive to supply the men with
fresh beef, mutton, or pork, and if there are game
birds or waterfowl in the vicinity, they are sure
to suffer. Such birds are killed in large numbers
not only to supply immediate needs but for fu-
ture use, so that when an opportunity presents
itself, the men kill all they can get.

A great deal of damage has been done, and is

72 Wild Bird Guests

still done at certain times and places, by the
small boy who has not been taught a proper re-
gard for bird life. With air gun, sling shot, trap,
and snare, he can quickly become a terror to the
birds within walking distance of his home, and
if he adds to these methods of destruction the
offense of taking birds' eggs, he can increase the
destruction many fold. Usually, I think, it is
not the boy's fault. To a quite natural curiosity
to see at close range or to possess, certain beauti-
ful things which have attracted his attention, is
added the joy of proving his quickness in dis-
covery, his cleverness in outwitting, or his skill
in capturing or killing the object of his desire.
His curiosity has not been led into safer channels ;
he has not been shown more useful ways in
which to prove his cleverness and skill.

The scientific collector of birds is one against
whom popular indignation is often directed (or
perhaps I should say misdirected), because he
is occasionally seen shooting birds which other
people are not allowed to shoot. I do not collect
birds myself, and I do not believe in permitting
people to collect birds simply because they would
like to have collections. But there are in every
state certain scientific men who are giving a
great deal of time to the study of birds with a
view to adding to our knowledge of ornithology

Destruction by Man 73

and it is my belief that these men should be
permitted to collect. They should, I think, be
allowed to take such birds as are needed and
few of them will take more than this. I am ac-
quainted with many collectors and most of them
are not only conscientious gentlemen, but loyal
supporters of the cause of bird protection.
Some of them do not shoot more than a bird or
two a year, after a reasonable working collec-
tion has been made. I know one, an enthusiast,
too, who has shot only one bird in two years.
One market-hunter will kill more birds than all
the scientific men in his state, put together.

BIRD ENEMIES FOR WHICH MAN IS CHIEFLY
RESPONSIBLE

In addition to the losses which man inflicts
on birds directly, he does further damage in-
directly through the activities of certain animals
for whose present status he is to a greater or
less extent responsible. Of these, far and away
the most destructive is the house cat. She be-
longs to a family of highly carnivorous animals,
and as compared with the dog is only about half
domesticated. Her wonderful body is specially
designed for capturing and overpowering crea-
tures weaker than herself, and song birds seem

74 Wild Bird Guests

to be her favorite prey. When they nest in the
trees or shrubs, or on arbors in the garden, her
wonderful ability as a climber enables her to
invade their nests. When they come to the
ground for food or water, she lies in wait and
springs upon them. She hunts by day and by
night, and when she is abroad there are few
places where birds are safe.

Mr. Chapman, America's best-known orni-
thologist and a most careful and accurate writer,
says : " In our own opinion there are not less than
twenty-five million cats in the United States, and
there may be twice that number. A house cat
has been known to kill fifty birds in a season and
a naturalist, than whom none is better qualified
to judge, believes that five hundred thousand
birds are annually killed by cats in New England
alone ! Apply these figures to the cats and the
country at large, and the result is appalling!"

Mabel Osgood Wright, president of the Con-
necticut Audubon Society, and author of Bird
Craft, Citizen Bird, and other works, who has had
a wide experience with both birds and cats, as-
sures us that "the evidence of men and women
whose words are incontestable would verify my
most radical statement, but one fact is beyond
dispute — if the people of the country insist on
keeping cats in the same numbers as at pres-

" . v m *.'• ••!& :

Destruction by Man 75

ent, all the splendid work of Federal and State
legislation, all the labors of game and song bird
protective associations, all the loving care of
individuals in watching and feeding, will not be
able to save our native birds in many localities."

Edward Howe Forbush, State Ornithologist
of Massachusetts, a careful writer who is always
sure of his ground, tells us of the situation in his
own state. "Nearly a hundred correspondents
scattered through all the counties of the state
report the cat as one of the greatest enemies of
the birds. The reports that have come in of the
torturing and killing of birds by cats are abso-
lutely sickening. The number of birds killed by
them in this state is appalling. It is quite true,
however, that some cats do not kill many birds,
and that some intelligent or high-bred cats may
be taught not to kill any. Some cat-lovers be-
lieve that each cat kills on the average not more
than ten birds a year; but I have learned of two
instances where more than that number were
killed in a single day, and another where seven
were killed. If we assume, however, that the
average cat on the farm kills but ten birds in a
year, and that there is one cat on each farm
in Massachusetts, we have in round numbers,
70,000 cats killing 700,000 birds annually. "

With the material at hand it would be a simple

76 Wild Bird Guests

matter for the writer to fill a book with the testi-
mony of conservative people — naturalists, game
wardens, owners of bird sanctuaries, yes, and
avowed cat-lovers, too — all pointing to the fact
that cats, despite their wonderful beauty of form
and movement, and their many charming ways,
are among the most cruel and destructive of all
bird enemies. The writer himself has seen not a
little of this destructive work on the part of cats
— his own and others. He was a cat-lover once,
owned seven attractive cats, and knows all their
lovable attributes from amiability to wistfulness.
But they were seen devouring young birds in
their nests before the eyes of their grief-frantic
parents ; they were seen torturing terror-stricken
adult birds for which they had lain in wait, and
when their owner made up his mind that this
sort of thing would go on as long as they lived,
death, swift and painless, removed them from
their feather-strewn path.

The most destructive cats, as a rule, are those
which either have no owners or whose owners so
neglect them that they are obliged to forage for
themselves. And these constitute a very large
proportion of our cat population. Among them
are the so-called "tramp" cats and "stray" cats,
with which many parts of our country are over-
run. In the city of New York alone the Society

Destruction by Man 77

for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals de-
stroys over fifty thousand homeless cats a year,
and it is a disgrace to that wonderful city
that the conditions which make such destruction
necessary, are permitted to exist. In a later
chapter will be given some suggestions look-
ing to the possible solution of this very serious
problem.

Badly trained dogs also, at certain times and
places, are destructive to birds. This is some-
times true of dogs belonging to people living on
islands or on the coast, and allowed to range over
the breeding grounds of sea-birds. When not
under proper control such dogs are apt to get the
habit of chasing the birds and of driving them
off their nests and sometimes they will eat the
eggs or young. Dr. Charles H. Townsend tells
me that the Esquimau dogs of Labrador, which
in summer are turned loose to forage for them-
selves, are often destructive to bird life and
probably eat the eggs and young of all species
which they find nesting on the ground.

Pigs, if not actually born with a taste for eggs
and nestlings, soon acquire one, and it is safe to
say that they never fail to devour such delicacies
when an opportunity presents itself. If given
free access to a colony of birds which nest on the
ground, pigs will gobble up the contents of every

78 Wild Bird Guests

nest. It is said that pigs were the chief cause of
the extinction of the dodo, a large flightless bird
which inhabited the Island of Mauritius.

Man is also responsible for the presence, in
this country, at least, of the European sparrow
and the European starling. The first is, and
has been for many years, a well-known pest, and
a serious enemy of our native song birds. Un-
fortunately its bad character and offensive
habits are too well known to require description
in detail. Hardy and pugnacious and present in
numbers that would baffle a census-taker, spar-
rows often attack and kill our smaller native birds.
They can make their bulky nests almost any-
where, but seem to prefer nest boxes when these
are to be had. In many localities by reason of
their great numbers, they will occupy all the
nest boxes with entrance holes large enough to
admit them, to the exclusion of bluebirds, tree
swallows, and other more desirable tenants. So
the latter are often forced to leave the little
homes which we have put up on purpose for
them — leave their favorite haunts in our gardens
and orchards, and take their chances of finding
nesting sites away off in the wilderness perhaps.

In the summer, when we put out bird baths for
our thirsty song birds, down come the sparrows
and nothing else in feathers can get near the

Destruction by Man 79

water. In the winter when we attempt to feed
our native birds, the sparrows come in hordes to
the exclusion of practically all other species. The
end of it is that thousands of people who are
anxious to do something to help our native
birds, become discouraged when they find that
the chief result of their efforts is an increase in
the size of the local flock of sparrows.

If the European sparrows were very useful
birds or fine songsters, or if they had unusually
beautiful plumage, there would be some com-
pensation for the dearth of native birds which
they create. But sad to say, usually they are
neither useful nor ornamental. On the contrary
they are often very destructive. As Mr. Ned
Dearborn points out in his Farmers9 Bulletin,
"The English Sparrow as a Pest": "It destroys
fruit, as cherries, grapes, pears, and peaches.
It also destroys buds and flowers of cultivated
trees, shrubs, and vines. In the garden it eats
seeds as they ripen, and nips off tender young
vegetables, especially peas and lettuce as they
appear above the ground. It damages wheat
and other grains, whether newly sown, ripening,
or in shocks. As a flock of fifty sparrows re-
quires daily the equivalent of a quart of wheat,
the annual loss caused by these birds throughout
the country is very great. "

8o Wild Bird Guests

A thorough investigation of the subject by
the Department of Agriculture shows that while
European Sparrows do a certain amount of good
by the destruction of insects in summer and of
weed seeds in the fall and winter, they do such a
vast amount of damage that there is compara-
tively little to be said in their favor.

The European starling threatens to create
another problem for the American bird lover.
Less than twenty years ago the range of the
starling in this country did not extend beyond the
boundaries of New York City. Now the bird
has overrun or rather overflown all the surround-
ing states, and may be seen in large flocks at all
seasons. Its economic status has not been fully
determined yet, but from what I can learn it
seems to be a more useful bird than the European
sparrow. It is certainly more pleasing to look
at, it has a more pleasant voice and it is com-
paratively clean and dainty in its habits. Being
partial to nest boxes, no doubt it would crowd
out our native birds were it not for the fact that
many of them, having smaller bodies, can use
entrance holes through which the foreign bird
cannot pass. So let us cheer up; the worst is
already here.

CHAPTER V

ECONOMIC REASONS FOR PROTECTING THE BIRDS

IF the farmers once realize what powerful
friends they have in the wild birds, they will be
the best bird protectors on earth. They will
band together and see to it that no one is allowed
to cut down their incomes by destroying the
most valuable allies they have in their fight
against their enemies the weeds, the harmful
insects, and the harmful rodents. The Depart-
ment of Agriculture at Washington, after a
careful study of the question, tells us that the
annual loss to the farmers of this country from
the attacks of insect and rodent pests alone, is
about a billion dollars. This means a loss of
about a dollar a month for every man, woman,
and child in the United States. The loss occa-
sioned by the enormous amount of labor re-
quired to battle with even partial success against
the weeds which everywhere threaten the crops,
is also very great. But the farmer's loss is by
no means his alone; we must all share it, whether

6 8l

82 Wild Bird Guests

we wish to or not, for we all eat what the farmer
grows, and whatever loss he sustains by having
a part of his crops destroyed, whether it be by
drought or insects, by floods or wild mice, by
storm or choking weeds, we must share by paying
higher prices for what is left. So we should all
be very much interested when the Department
of Agriculture goes on to tell us that birds con-
stitute the principal check upon the weeds and
insects and rodents which cause this tremendous
loss every year. And we may accept the state-
ments of the Department of Agriculture on this
subject with absolute confidence, because they
are'not the result of guesswork or of prejudice,
but the result of careful investigation on the
part of scientific men who are giving their lives,
not to prove that birds are either beneficial or
the reverse, but to learn the truth about birds,
whatever that may be. For example, if Dr.
A. K. Fisher tells us that at least seventy-five
per cent, of the food of the short-eared owl con-
sists of mice, we can be as sure of it as that
seventy-five per cent, of a dollar is seventy-five
cents. You may be certain that Dr. Fisher has
taken nothing for granted. He has examined
hundreds of owl pellets and the stomachs of
hundreds of owls, from all parts of the country
and at all seasons of the year, and has reserved

Economic Reasons for Protection 83

his opinion until he is sure that no further evi-
dence will cause it to be reversed.

When Mr. F. E. L. Beal states that fifty--
three per cent, of the rusty blackbird's food con-
sists of animal food, chiefly noxious insects, he is
not guessing either. He shows you a table which
he has prepared after the careful examination
of the stomachs of many blackbirds. There you
can see at a glance what kinds of food and the
proportions of each, which the birds eat during
every season of the year. And you can see also
that bad deeds are recorded as carefully as good
ones, and that when practically nothing but grain
is eaten, the table shows it.

And when Dr. Sylvester D. Judd expresses
an opinion on the food of sparrows, he has based
that opinion on the contents of the stomachs of
between four thousand and five thousand spar-
rows; and so if he tells us, as he does, that dur-
ing the colder half of the year, the seeds of smart
weed, bird weed, pigeon grass, pig weed, lamb's
quarters, ragweed, crab grass, and other seeds,
form four-fifths of the food of song sparrows,
we may accept the statement as a fact.

Of course I am aware that the subject of the
economic value of birds, when taken up in detail,
is very complex, and that the questions involved
are not always easy to answer. Some birds, like

84 Wild Bird Guests

the yellow-bellied sapsucker, which is said to
damage the trees to the extent of $2,250,000
annually, and the sharp-shinned and Cooper's
hawks, which live almost exclusively on poultry
and useful wild birds, are easy to place in the
destructive class. Others, like our cuckoos,
which feed on destructive hairy caterpillars and
other noxious creatures; and tree sparrows,
which devote themselves chiefly to the gathering
of weed seeds, are as easy to place in the bene-
ficial class. But in between we have many birds
not so easy to place. For example, the bobolink,
which is beneficial in the north, where it feeds
mainly on insects, is very destructive in the
south, where it works havoc in the rice fields.
The great horned owl is very useful in the west,
where agriculture is the chief occupation and
where the bird destroys vast numbers of gophers,
ground squirrels, and other pests; but in the east
where the population is denser and where there
is more poultry raising, this owl sometimes gets
himself very much disliked by killing hens and
turkeys. Sometimes birds whose value may not
be very apparent under normal conditions, come
to the front at the time of a plague of insects or
rodents, and perform invaluable service. For
instance, when the Mormons first settled Utah,
they were threatened with ruin by the millions

Economic Reasons for Protection 85

of black crickets which came down upon their
grain fields and swept them as clean as though
they had been burned with fire. The first year's
crop was thus destroyed. With characteristic
courage next year the Mormons sowed their
seed again, but no sooner did the crops give
promise of a bountiful yield, when again came
the black crickets, bringing dismay to the settlers.
But just at this juncture a wonderful thing
happened. Suddenly, and seemingly from no-
where in particular, came a great avenging army.
Hundreds and thousands of Franklin gulls
poured themselves into the grain fields and
annihilated those black crickets until there
wasn't so much as a chirp left. It looked like
a miracle from Heaven and the settlers thought it
was. And the grateful Mormons did not forget.
The gulls have been protected ever since, both
by law and sentiment, and recently a suitable
monument was erected in Salt Lake City in
recognition of their services.

Certain otherwise beneficial birds complicate
matters by devouring predacious beetles, ich-
neumon flies, and others which are themselves
useful because they destroy harmful insects.
But then again these predacious insects destroy
some useful insects, complicating the matter still
further, and making it extremely difficult to

86 Wild Bird Guests

determine the exact economic value of the birds.
However, where pains have been taken to work
out the interrelations of birds and predacious
insects the evidence obtained seems to be chiefly
in favor of the birds, and at least until a more
exhaustive study of these interrelations results
in definitely establishing their economic status,
we should give such birds the benfit of the doubt.

As this book is not primarily a work on the
value of birds, that subject cannot be dealt with
exhaustively here. But I will try to present
to the reader just enough evidence to leave in his
mind no doubt that birds as a class are not only
useful, but very useful, and that it is well worth
our while, even from a selfish standpoint to
protect them and to insist upon their protection
by others.

We are often surprised to find that birds which
we had regarded simply as beautiful or poetic
are very useful as well. As we have seen in the
case of the plague of crickets which threatened
to ruin the Mormons, gulls can do more than add
to the beauty of a landscape. Given the protec-
tion they deserve they become valuable allies
of the farmers, coming with terns and other
birds to be a scourge to the locusts and other
insects which lessen the profits of farming.
Eighty-four locusts have been found in the

Economic Reasons for Protection 87

stomach of a single tern. Sea-gulls also act as
scavengers, cleansing the waters of our harbors
and river mouths of offal and other refuse which
threaten to pollute them. And they are not the
least of the many agencies which make fertile
and habitable what would otherwise be rocky or
sandy, barren, and uninhabitable islands. Their
rotting nests make soil; they fertilize it with
their guano, and plant in it seeds which they
have carried from afar and which have passed
unharmed through their digestive tracts. Doubt-
less many a shipwrecked sailor owes his life
to the unconscious work of sea-birds. And as
Forbush points out they often save the manner
from shipwreck, especially in foggy summer
weather. At such times the presence or the
clamorous voices of sea-birds in great numbers
often give warning of the presence of the rocks
or islands where they make their homes, and off-
shore fishermen receive similar warning from the
unerring flight of homeward-bound gulls and
terns. Chapman goes so far as to say that
Columbus, facing a discouraged and mutinous
crew, might never have discovered America had
not the fall flight of land birds passing from the
Bermudas to the Bahamas and Antilles, been
observed by the mariners, who were given new
courage by the unwearied and joyous songsters

88 Wild Bird Guests

which alighted in the rigging. The course of the
vessel was changed, the flying birds were made
the pilots, and the voyage was thus shortened by
two hundred miles and land discovered.

Few of us, I think, would look to the great
dignified, slow-moving, fish-eating white pelicans
to help us much in solving our insect prob-
lem, yet at times they devour great numbers of
locusts.

The ducks, geese, and swans are of value to us
not so much for what they do as for what they
are, most of them are excellent for food, and if
we gave them reasonable protection instead of
permitting them to be slaughtered wastefully,
they would make a wonderful and perpetual
addition to our national food supply. Under
present conditions a comparatively few people
get most of them, and they are growing fewer and
fewer in numbers.

Spoonbills, ibises, storks, herons, and cranes
are all more or less useful as destroyers of in-
sects, and at times, such as when insect plagues
threaten the crops in certain regions, the services
of such birds may prove the salvation of the
farmers. An example of such service was given
some years ago in Australia when the sheep
industry near Ballarat was seriously threatened
by a swarm of locusts which was devouring the

Economic Reasons for Protection 89

pasture. Just as the sheep owners began to
feel that they would be obliged to sell all their
sheep to save them from starvation, down came
flocks of spoonbills and cranes which with the
assistance of a flock of starlings, soon completed
the destruction of the locusts and saved the day.

Herons, of course, when conditions are favor-
able for them, destroy a good many fish; but
these birds are so picturesque that, save in very
exceptional cases, it will do us good to make some
sacrifice to have them with us. A stately heron,
fishing on the edge of a lonely pool, is a pleasant
memory to be cherished through life ; a dead one
upholstered and set up in a living-room is a
perpetual reproach.

Many of the sandpipers and curlews are fa-
mous as destroyers of insects, and the smaller
ones, at least, should be spared on this account.
Professor Samuel Aughey, whose extensive and
painstaking investigations have done so much to
make us appreciate the value of Nebraska birds,
once took from the stomachs of six spotted
sandpipers 233 insects, ninety-one of which were
locusts. The farmer lost a valuable friend when
the Esquimau curlew disappeared and he will
lose another if the upland plover passes, as it
will unless given powerful protection by law and
sentiment. This bird is used for food, but is

90 Wild Bird Guests

infinitely more valuable alive than dead. It
lives very largely on locusts, and when these are
numerous they are eaten almost exclusively.

Quail and grouse are valuable both as food and
as destroyers of insects and weed seeds. The
former, at least, are more valuable alive than
dead. They are wonderful destroyers of potato
bugs, and if encouraged to nest in the fields and
fence corners, no Paris green need be used on the
potato crops. On locusts they work just as well.
Professor Aughey found in the stomachs of
twenty-one quail, 539 of these insects, an average
of twenty-five apiece, and that only a part of
one day's work. These birds also eat large
numbers of chinch bugs, cotton worms, cotton-
boll weevils, cucumber beetles, May beetles,
leaf beetles, clover-leaf beetles, corn-hill bugs,
wire worms, cutworms, ants, flies, and many
other insect pests. And being birds of good size
they require large quantities of such food. As
destroyers of weed seed they stand as high if not
higher. Forbush states that they eat the seeds
of over sixty different kinds of weeds, those of
ragweed seeming to be the favorite. The same
authority tells us that "as many as two to three
hundred seeds of smartweed, five hundred of the
red sorrel, seven hundred of the three-seeded
mercury, and one thousand of the ragweed have

Economic Reasons for Protection 91

been eaten at a meal." Dr. Judd gives even
stronger testimony in favor of these birds when
he tells us that five thousand seeds of green
foxtail and ten thousand of pigweed have been
found in a single bird. He estimates that from
June ist to August ist in the two states of Vir-
ginia and North Carolina alone, bobwhites eat
1341 tons of weed seed and 340 tons of insects.
When to all this is added the aesthetic value of
this gentle bird, whose cheery voice thrills all to
whom it is familiar, we see that to kill a quail
and serve it on toast is to realize but a very
small part of what it is really worth.

The mourning dove which we see everywhere
through the Middle West and which all day long
rises in little flocks as our train passes through the
fields, rivals even the bobwhite as a destroyer of
weed seeds. Professor King, in Wisconsin, took
from the stomach of a single dove 4016 seeds of
pigeon grass, and from the stomach of another
were taken 7500 seeds of oxalis.

I confess that I have little patience with the
man who tries to tell the farmer that all hawks
and owls are his friends, and that he should not
shoot one under any circumstances. He should
know better than this and the farmer does know
better. Such sweeping statements not only fail
to convince the intelligent farmer, but they tend

92 Wild Bird Guests

to make him discredit the truth concerning the
birds of prey.

Dr. A. K. Fisher, America's greatest authority
on our hawks and owls, divides them into four
classes, as follows:

(1) Species wholly beneficial.
Rough-legged hawk, ferruginous rough-leg or

squirrel hawk, and the four kites — the white-
tailed kite, Mississippi kite, swallow-tailed kite,
and everglade kite.

(2) Species chiefly beneficial.

Most of our hawks and owls, including:
marsh hawk, Harris hawk, red-tailed hawk,
red-shouldered hawk, short-tailed hawk, white-
tailed hawk, Swainson hawk, short-winged hawk,
broad-winged hawk, Mexican black hawk,
Mexican goshawk, sparrow hawk, Audubon
caracara, barn owl, long-eared owl, short-eared
owl, great gray owl, barred owl, western
owl, Richardson owl, Acadian owl, screech owl,
flammulated screech owl, snowy owl, hawk owl,
burrowing owl, pigmy owl, ferruginous pigmy
owl, and elf owl.

(3) Species in which beneficial and harmful
qualities about balance:

Golden eagle, bald eagle, pigeon hawk, Rich-
ardson hawk, aplomado falcon, prairie falcon,
and great horned owl.

. /Many 3$ tret fy

Economic Reasons for Protection 93

(4) Species which are harmful:

The gyrfalcons, duck hawk, sharp-shinned
hawk, Cooper hawk, and goshawk.

To the average farmer the most surprising
thing about the above lists will be the very small
number of species which are positively harmful.
And for the farmer in the United States this list
grows beautifully smaller when we take from it
the gyrfalcons, which are northern species which
seldom enter this country; when we remember
that the duck hawk is uncommon except in the
vicinity of large bodies of water and that his
operations are conducted chiefly against water-
fowl, and that even the goshawk, one of the most
destructive of birds, is rare south of the Canadian
border except in the fall and winter. This leaves
us with two harmful hawks, Cooper's and the
sharp-shinned hawk, and as I have already, in
the chapter on the natural enemies of birds,
spoken of the misdeeds of these two, it will not
be necessary to say any more about them.

Naturally it is not possible here to go into
details concerning the feeding habits of a large
number of birds of prey, but I will try, by giving
a few examples, to show why these birds, as a
class, are beneficial, and why, therefore, most of
them should be protected.

First in order come the vultures, which are

94 Wild Bird Guests

almost wholly beneficial. The turkey buzzard
and the black vulture of our southern states
render valuable service as scavengers. Flying
at great heights and endowed with wonderful
powers of vision, they quickly find and devour
carcasses and other decaying animal matter, and
thus prevent it from becoming a menace to
health.

The hawks come next and I will begin with
the red-tailed hawk, whose appearance in any
locality is almost sure to attract the attention of
the farmer, and which is among the birds most
frequently shot for a "chicken hawk." As the
range of this bird covers the whole United
States, if chickens constituted any large propor-
tion of its food, it would surely be a great enemy
of the poultry keeper. Fortunately, however,
its principal food consists of mice, with a fair
proportion of shrews, rats, squirrels, gophers,
rabbits, grasshoppers, beetles, frogs, snakes, and
crayfish. Poultry is occasionally taken, and a
few birds are on the list, but the great good which
this hawk does by destroying rodent pests, pays
many times over for the occasional chicken or
song bird taken when perhaps the mouse-hunting
is poor. How far the good deeds of this hawk
outweigh its bad ones, may be seen when we learn
from Dr. Fisher that out of 562 stomachs ex-

Economic Reasons for Protection 95

amined, 54 contained poultry or game birds;
51, other birds; 278, mice; 131, other rodents;
37, frogs, toads, and snakes; 47, insects; 8, cray-
fish; i, centipede; 13, offal, and 89 were empty.

The red-shouldered hawk, another large
species, which is a bird of eastern North Amer-
ica only, is even more beneficial in proportion
to the size of its range. Though it is continually
persecuted as a poultry thief, as a matter of fact
it hardly ever touches poultry and most of the
very few wild birds which it kills are possibly
sick or decrepit ones. On the other hand this
splendid bird wages an unceasing warfare on
mice and many kinds of injurious insects, and
the balance of its food consists chiefly of frogs,
toads, and snakes. Though I have on several
occasions closely observed red-shouldered hawks
from the time their eggs were hatched until the
young flew away, I have never seen one carry
a chicken or in fact a bird of any kind to its
young. I once reared two of these hawks in a
poultry yard, actually confining them with the
poultry for two months, and though they were
not overfed, they never in a single instance even
showed an inclination to molest the poultry.

Perhaps the most beneficial of all is the
marsh hawk, because it is not only a useful bird,
but also has a very wide range, being found in

96 Wild Bird Guests

practically all parts of the United States and
Canada. As its name would imply, it is a bird
of the open country and it makes its nest on the
ground in the marshes. Flying low, and with
slow-beating wings, this large bird tacks tirelessly
back and forth over the country, sweeping the
ground with its keen eyes for the mice and other
small rodents which form the principal part of
its food. Dr. Fisher tells us that of 124 stomachs
examined, 7 contained poultry or game birds,
34, other birds, 57, mice ; 22, other rodents ; 7,
reptiles; 2, frogs; 14, insects; i, indeterminate
matter, and 8 were empty. In some of these
stomachs there were as many as four, five, and
even eight meadow mice, and when we consider
the extreme rapidity with which birds digest their
food, we realize that these stomach contents do
not begin to represent the entire work of the
day on which they were shot. And again when
we consider that marsh hawks rear from four to
six young, and that these remain in the nest for
several weeks, that young hawks are proverbially
ravenous, and that during the latter part of their
stay in the nest they eat even more than adult
birds, we begin to get some faint idea of the
number of mice and insects which their parents
must destroy each day in order to provide food
for the entire family.

Economic Reasons for Protection 97

As eight meadow mice have been found in
the stomach of a single marsh hawk, and as this
probably represented but a part of the day's
food supply, it would not be unreasonable to
suppose that each marsh hawk destroyed at
least eight mice or their equivalent in other
harmful creatures every day to supply its own
needs. But in order to be well within bounds
let us cut this number in two, and suppose that
each hawk kills but four meadow mice each day
— a number probably quite insufficient to keep
such a large, active bird in good condition.
This would mean that a pair of these hawks
would destroy eight mice in a day, or 2920 mice
in a year. It has been estimated that each
meadow mouse on a farm causes an annual loss
to the farmer of at least two cents, by destroying
grass roots, tubers, grain, and young fruit trees —
a very conservative estimate it would seem.
The destruction of 2920 mice then, would save
the farmer $58.40. In other words it puts into
his pocket $58.40, which but for the hawks would
have been eaten up by mice. Now, it is an
exceptionally good cow which gives an annual
return as large as that, and a farmer owning such
a cow would be very careful not to shoot her by
mistake for some harmful animal ; yet that same
farmer will, without a moment's hesitation,

98 Wild Bird Guests

shoot these valuable hawks, because hawks of
an entirely different species have at some time
carried off his chickens.

Owls, as a class, are even more beneficial
than the hawks. They constitute what might
be termed "the night shift" of the pest-killing
forces, coming on about dusk, and continuing
their work until dawn, when the hawks again
take up the good work. Having very acute
hearing, and also wonderful powers of vision,
which are, in most species, keenest in the dusk,
they are able to capture many nocturnal animals
which are passed over by the hawks. Mice and
rats, moles and shrews, rabbits, squirrels, gophers,
and prairie dogs, besides many kinds of injurious
insects, constitute the principal food of our owls.
As Dr. Fisher has pointed out there are some
owls which are not wholly beneficial. Certain
species, when opportunity offers, are destructive
to poultry. There is this to be said, however,
that if poultry is properly housed at night there
is little to fear from owls.

The barn owl, chiefly a southern species, is one
of the most useful of all birds. It lives almost
exclusively on small mammals, principally de-
structive ones. Fisher says that in the South
Atlantic and Gulf States it feeds extensively on
the cotton rat, and that the common rat also

Economic Reasons for Protection 99

is greedily devoured. He once examined two
hundred pellets taken from the nesting site of
a pair of these owls in one of the towers of the
Smithsonian Institution. In these pellets he
found 454 skulls, of which 225 were those of
meadow mice, 2 of pine mice, 179 of house mice,
20 of rats, 6 of jumping mice, 20 of shrews, i of
a star-nosed mole, and i of a vesper sparrow. In
the retreat of another pair of these birds were
found more than three thousand skulls, 97 per
cent, of which were those of mammals, chiefly
field mice, house mice, and common rats. And
all this splendid work was done without the cost
of one penny to anyone.

Best known perhaps of all our nocturnal birds
of prey, is the little screech owl, a bird whose
range covers the whole of the United States and
the southern portions of Canada. The farmer
who kills this useful little bird, or permits any-
one else on his farm to kill it, is woefully negligent
of his own interests. During the day there is
no sign of its presence, but at dusk it suddenly
appears in the entrance of its hiding place — a
hollow apple tree, or a hole in some outbuild-
ing perhaps — and without the slightest sound it
passes into the air. Silent as a puff of smoke, it
drifts through the orchard, over the barnyard,
and around the corn ricks, with bright eyes wide

ioo Wild Bird Guests

open, and sharp talons ready to snuff out the
lives of the thieving mice or rats. This little
fellow may often be induced to take up his
residence on a given farm, if a suitable nest box
is put up for him in the orchard. There are
several such nest boxes in this village and I know
of at least two which are occupied by screech
owls. One of them is on an apple tree in my
own orchard, and when I found the owl, I found
in the box beside him, half a very large black rat,
and several pellets containing the bones and fur
of meadow mice.

If space permitted, we might go on through the
whole long list and continue to prove by indis-
putable evidence that most hawks and owls are
of great value to the men to whom the presence
of rats and mice and gophers and other rodents
means a money loss. But even from the above
facts, I think it will be seen that in most birds
of prey the farmer has powerful allies who should
be encouraged in every way possible and made to
feel that they are never so safe as when they are
on the farm.

The cuckoos of which we have two species,
the black-billed and the yellow-billed, are among
our most valuable destroyers of insects. They
make a specialty of hairy caterpillars and are
among the best checks upon the destructive

Economic Reasons for Protection 101

tent-caterpillar. Weed and Dearborn point out
that they are unique in that they have a taste
for stink bugs, hairy caterpillars, and poisonous
spiny larvae which most other birds reject.
They are among the most persistent enemies of
the caterpillars of the brown-tail and gypsy
moths, and are said to kill many more than they
can eat. Professor Beal states that from the
stomachs of 121 cuckoos, were taken 2771 cater-
pillars, and Doctor Otto Lugger found several
hundred small ones in the stomach of a single
bird. A cuckoo shot in Washington some years
ago was found to have eaten 250 half-grown web-
worms, one large cerambycid beetle and its eggs,
one large plant bug, and a snail.

Most woodpeckers are highly beneficial, spend-
ing their lives chiefly in the destruction of insects
which, if they were not kept in check would
quickly kill the trees which they infest. Some
species, like the ivory-billed and pileated wood-
peckers, spend most of their time in the deep
solitary woods; others like the hairy and downy,
divide their time between the woodland, the
shade trees, and the orchards; while one, the
flicker, lives much of his life in the open, and gets
a large part of his food on the ground. Wild
fruits and berries are eaten more or less by most
woodpeckers, but their principal food is insects.

IO2 Wild Bird Guests

Here again we must confine ourselves to a few
examples. The downy woodpecker, which has
a wide range and which is known to all of us, is
one of the most useful members of this useful
family. We need only watch him for a while as
he works in our fruit and shade trees, to realize
this, but as some of us haven't the time to prove
it for ourselves, it is well to know that specialists
have already proved it for us. From the contents
of 140 stomachs examined by the U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture, it is shown that three-
fourths of the downy's food consists of insects.
Seventeen specimens examined in Wisconsin were
found to have eaten 40 insect larvae, including
20 wood-boring grubs, 3 caterpillars, 7 ants, 4
beetles, i chrysalid, no small bugs, and a spider;
also a few acorns and small seeds, and a little
woody fiber which had probably been taken in
accidentally with the food. Fanny Hardy Eck-
storm, in her charming little book, The Wood-
peckers, says of him : " Downy works at his self-
appointed task in our orchards, summer and
winter, as regular as a policeman on his beat.
But he is much better than a policeman, for he
acts as judge, jury, jailer, and jail. All the evi-
dence he asks against an insect is to find him
loafing about the premises. " The hairy wood-
pecker is simply a larger edition of the downy,

Economic Reasons for Protection 103

and his feeding habits are similar. Most of
his food consists of insects, and four specimens
examined by Professor Aughey in Nebraska
contained 157 grasshoppers.

Night hawks and whippoorwills are policemen
of the air, and are especially useful in that they
are working in the dusk and at night, when most
other birds are off duty. The amount of good
work they do is almost unbelievable. An
Arkansas night hawk whose stomach was ex-
amined, had captured six hundred insects.
Gnats, beetles, flies, and grasshoppers are also
eaten by night hawks, and seven Nebraska speci-
mens were found to have gathered in 348 Rocky
Mountain locusts.

Swifts also capture most of their insect food
while on the wing, and they are apt to be found
on duty at any hour of the day or night. They
should be encouraged to nest in the chimneys
wherever they will.

Flycatchers, too, catch most of their prey on
the wing, but unlike the swifts and night hawks,
they do not go far afield to hunt for it. Upon
some dead tree top, a telegraph pole, the gable
of a barn, or similar vantage point, they stand,
quiet but very watchful, until some luckless
insect comes within range of their vision. A
swift dive out into space, the click of a bill, and

104 Wild Bird Guests

the sentinel returns to his post with the insect
inside. Perhaps no flycatcher is better known or
better loved than our common phcebe, whose
return in the spring is a pretty sure sign of mild
weather or at least the approach of it. Ninety-
three per cent, of this bird's food consists of
insects, and the remainder of wild fruit. It rears
two broods of young each year and as there are
often five birds to each brood, the amount of food
consumed is very great. There is always a nest
under the roof of our piazza, and we should miss
the birds in more ways than one if they did not
come. In the first place we should miss their
cheery companionship. We should also miss
our customary freedom from annoyance by flies
and mosquitoes, for which we are indebted to
the phcebes and a few other birds. And it
should be remembered that birds which destroy
house flies probably destroy the typhoid germs
they may be carrying, and that birds which
destroy mosquitoes may be freeing us from the
dangers of malaria. I am inclined to think that
birds have not yet received the credit due them
as preventers of disease. The kingbird has
still another claim upon us. This handsome
flycatcher is one of the best of all guardians of the
poultry yard. If a pair of kingbirds make their
nest on some pear or apple tree in the orchard or

Economic Reasons for Protection 105

chicken-yard, woe to the hawk or crow that
attempts to steal the chickens. Long before he
gets near, the kingbirds will fly out and attack
him, and like as not will make the feathers fly
from his back before he can escape. Besides,
ninety per cent, of the kingbird's food consists of
insects. He has been accused of eating honey
bees, but that he does so to any great extent has
not been proven. In 241 stomachs examined,
there were found forty drones, four workers, and
six whose sex could not be determined. The
killing of the drones was beneficial, and the small
loss entailed by the killing of four workers was
more than made up for by the destruction of
nineteen robber flies which were also found in
these stomachs.

Crows and blue jays seem to be "on the fence/'
They both do great good at certain times and
in certain places and great damage at other
times and places. Both of them stand rather
high as destroyers of insects and both have bad
reputations as robbers of birds' nests. In his
government bulletin on The Common Crow of the
United States, Professor Walter B. Barrows sums
up his subject's case as follows:

" (i) Crows seriously damage the corn crop, and
injure other grain crops, usually to a less extent.
(2) They damage other farm crops to some extent,

106 Wild Bird Guests

frequently doing much mischief. (3) They are
very destructive to the eggs and young of
domesticated fowls. (4) They do incalculable
damage to the eggs and young of native birds.
(5) They do much harm by the distribution of the
seeds of poison-ivy, poison-sumach, and perhaps
other noxious plants. (6) They do much harm
by the destruction of beneficial insects. On the
other hand, (i) They do much good by the
destruction of injurious insects. (2) They are
largely beneficial through their destruction of
mice and other rodents. (3) They are valuable
occasionally as scavengers." In conclusion he
says: "It seems probable that in most places
the crow is neither so harmful nor so valuable
as to render special laws necessary for its destruc-
tion or protection."

These last remarks probably apply equally
well to the blue jay, who though a notorious
robber of nests, is useful as a destroyer of the
larvae of brown-tail and gypsy moths, the eggs of
the tent-caterpillar moth, besides beetles and
grasshoppers. Neither crows nor blue jays
should be exterminated but they should be
watched, and where they become too numerous
or too bold, and seriously interfere with other
wild birds or with poultry, measures should be
taken to thin them out.

Economic Reasons for Protection 107

Birds belonging to what we might call "the
blackbird family, " which includes the bobolinks,
meadow larks, orioles, blackbirds, grackles, and
cowbirds, are nearly all more beneficial than
harmful. But there is a great difference in the
amount of good done by the different members of
this family. The meadow lark is one of the most
useful. In the eastern states it does very little
harm even in the spring when the corn is sprout-
ing; in summer, it feeds almost exclusively on
insects, chiefly noxious ones, and in the fall it
is useful as a destroyer of weed seeds. Pro-
fessor Harold Child Bryant of the University of
California, in his splendid work on The Economic
Status of the Western Meadow Lark shows how
valuable the bird is to the California farmer, in
spite of the fact that it does some damage by
pulling grain during two weeks in the spring, a
damage which might be prevented, he suggests,
by planting the grain somewhat deeper or by a
little overplanting. Professor Bryant gives ten
good reasons why the meadow lark should be
protected, and among them is the fact that it is
probably unequaled as a destroyer of cutworms,
caterpillars, and grasshoppers, three of the worst
insect plagues in the state of California.

Taking the other extreme, the bobolink prob-
ably does much more harm than good, if we

io8 Wild Bird Guests

judge him solely from an economic standpoint.
It is hard for people of the north, where the bird
is so well-beloved for aesthetic reasons, to hear
him condemned, but the fact remains that his
depredations in the rice fields of the south are
often very serious. In the fall the bobolinks
gather in flocks of millions, which move like
armies upon the rice crops, which they would
destroy in two or three days if they were not
continually being driven off by "bird-minders"
who patrol the fields, and slaughter the birds
by shooting them.

Sparrows and finches base their chief claim to
usefulness upon the fact that they are, as a family,
the greatest destroyers of the seeds of noxious
weeds. They help to keep down perhaps fifty or
sixty kinds of injurious plants, and the amount
of good they accomplish in the course of a year is
hard to believe. Many of them, like the juncos,
tree sparrows, and snow buntings, work in flocks,
and before them such seeds as ragweed, pigweed,
smartweed, and crab grass fairly melt away from
the ground. It is not an uncommon thing to
find from 300 to 500 seeds in the stomach of a
single sparrow, and these represent but a part
of the day's work. Prof. F. E. L. Beal some
time ago made a very careful and conservative
estimate of the number -of tree sparrows which

Economic Reasons for Protection 109

spent the winter in the state of Iowa. Judging
from the stomach contents of many tree sparrows
examined by him, he allowed a quarter of an
ounce of weed seed a day for each bird, and on
this basis calculated that in that one state,
the tree sparrows destroy 1,750,000 pounds, or
about 875 tons of weed seed during each winter.
Supposing that those seeds had been left on the
ground and that one in a hundred had germin-
ated, I wonder what it would have cost the
farmer to grub them out.,

Our seven species of swallows may be counted
among the birds which are almost wholly bene-
ficial. They do no harm in any way beyond
eating a few useful parasitic insects, and comb-
ing the air from morning to night they destroy
an almost unbelievable number of noxious flying
things, including house flies, mosquitoes, gnats,
and horse flies. As most of them are quick to
accept the hospitality of man, they are among the
most useful birds we can have around our homes
and barns. But they are valuable in fields as
well, since they gather in locusts, leaf hoppers,
ants, wasps, and bugs. The purple martin, the
largest of the family, is very fond of squash
beetles. The stomachs of ten purple martins,
shot in Nebraska, were found to contain 265
locusts and 161 other insects.

no Wild Bird Guests

When we see shrikes attacking our favorite
chickadees and other little friends in winter, it is
hard for us to regard them as useful birds. Yet
Dr. Judd, who has closely studied their feeding
habits, tells us that in the main these habits are
good. It appears that one-fourth of their food
consists of mice, one-fourth of grasshoppers,
one-fourth of English sparrows and noxious
insects, and only one-fourth of small native birds,
useful beetles, and spiders.

Quite different is the important service ren-
dered by a host of small birds whose duty it
seems to be to protect the trees and shrubs among
which they spend the greater part of their
lives. Here we have the vireos, warblers, wrens,
nut-hatches, titmice, and kinglets, all energetic
and persistent hunters of small game, which
if allowed to increase unchecked would quickly
destroy our forests and set at naught the best
work of the fruit grower. The vireos, many of
the warblers, some of the wrens, and the titmice,
work chiefly among the small twigs, the leaves,
and blossoms of the trees, and they are well-
hidden insects, insect eggs, or cocoons which
escape the sharp little eyes made on purpose to
spy them, and the sharper beaks so well fitted
for probing the crannies where they lurk. Who
can help admiring the work of a chickadee when

Economic Reasons for Protection in

he undertakes to inspect a particular twig. He
goes at it as if he knew his business and took
a pride in doing it right. He studies his subject
from every point of view — from above, from
both sides, and from below, thinking nothing of
swinging upside down if this position affords him
a better view of any particular spot. And woe
to the pests which may be hiding from him.
Canker-worm eggs here, a small caterpillar there,
and a bark beetle behind that twig, and the
chickadee goes back and forth, up and down, and
round and round, meanwhile chatting gaily to a
dozen fellows, all working on different twigs, un-
til that little job is finished and he passes on to
the next one. Prof. E. D. Sanderson, who has
carefully studied the chickadee in Michigan,
estimates that this bird destroys every year in
that one state about eight thousand million
insects.

Certain warblers, the nuthatches, and brown
creepers, devote themselves chiefly to the insects
which infest the bark of the trees, and gather in
many which the woodpeckers have passed by.

Mocking birds, thrashers, catbirds, thrushes,
robins, and bluebirds should not be required to
give evidence of their material usefulness in
order to insure our protection. Almost all of
them are world famous as musicians and their

112 Wild Bird Guests

cheerful presence alone has won for them the
love of every American capable of the finer
feelings. Nevertheless many of them are very
useful as well. The bluebird, universal favorite,
has a splendid record as a destroyer of injuri-
ous insects. Professor Forbes, in summing up
his evidence for this bird, remarks: "One hun-
dred bluebirds at thirty insects a day, would eat
in eight months about 670,000 insects. If this
number of birds were destroyed, the result would
be the preservation, on the area supervised by
them, of about seventy thousand moths and
caterpillars (many of them cutworms), twenty
thousand leaf hoppers, ten thousand curculios,
and sixty-five thousand crickets, locusts, and
grasshoppers. How this frightful horde of ma-
rauders would busy itself if left undisturbed,
no one can doubt. It would eat grass and clover,
and corn and cabbage, inflicting an immense
injury itself, and leaving a progeny which would
multiply that injury indefinitely. "

The robin is charged with eating ripe fruit and
there is no doubt whatever that in many cases
the charge is true. At times owners of small
fruit farms suffer severe losses from the attacks
of this bird, though the investigations of Pro-
fessor Real tend to show that where wild fruit
is abundant it is preferred to the cultivated

Economic Reasons for Protection 113

varieties. In any case the good work accom-
plished by the robin, in destroying insects,
especially when there are hungry nestlings to be
fed, much more than offsets the damage done in
individual cases.

The catbird must also plead guilty to the
charge of fruit eating, for he is notoriously fond
of the smaller kinds, but as a check upon insect
pests, he more than pays his bills. As he feeds
his young almost exclusively on insects, and as
he rears two and often three broods in a sea-
son, the service rendered is considerable. The
stomachs of three nestling catbirds examined by
Dr. Clarence Moores Weed, contained ninety-
five per cent, of insect food. Sixty-two per cent,
of this food was composed of cutworms.

Practically all the thrushes eat a good deal
of fruit, but most of it is wild fruit that has little
or no value to man. On the other hand, nearly
two-thirds of their food consists of insects,
chiefly injurious ones.

So making all allowances for a number of
birds whose good deeds are offset by bad ones,
and for a few which are positively harmful, we
shall see that we have working for us a great
army of feathered workmen — workmen, many
of whom work for us three hundred and sixty-
five days in the year, without wages, and without

114 Wild Bird Guests

even the necessity for supervision. And when
we think that these workmen never loaf, never
ask for a vacation, and never go on strike, it
would seem that there should be, among all
intelligent people, the keenest competition for
their services. In later chapters I shall show
some of the ways in which these workmen may
be induced to spend at least a part of the year in
our fields and orchards and gardens, where they
will surely lay the foundations of a permanent
friendship which shall be at once a source of
pleasure and profit to us and of protection to
themselves.

CHAPTER VI

AESTHETIC AND MORAL REASONS FOR PROTECT-
ING THE BIRDS

WE have seen how valuable the birds are to
us as guardians of our trees and crops, and we
realize that we should protect them for our own
interests, because they insure us heavier yields
and more money. To do this will show our
wisdom and far-sightedness; it will show our
interest in birds. But it will not necessarily
show our love for them, for "love does not
traffic in a market-place, nor use a huckster's
scales." Valuable as birds are as checks upon
our enemies the weeds, the insects, and the
rodents, there are higher reasons for protecting
them. Looking at the matter from an aesthetic
point of view, there are tens of thousands of
people, and I number the reader and myself
among them, who would find the world a much
harder place to live in if it were not for the birds.
Our happiness is made up largely of pleasant
sights and sounds and thoughts, and there would

"5

n6 Wild Bird Guests

be far less of all of these if there were no birds.
We should be deprived of the sight of their won-
derful forms and colors and movements. How
much a flock of sea-gulls, wheeling and turning
and flashing sunlight from their silver pinions,
above the deep blue water of a bay or harbor
mouth, adds to the beauty of the scene. What
an air of cheerfulness a flock of pine grosbeaks,
or juncos, or a brave band of friendly chickadees
gives to a leaden winter landscape. How much
of spring there is on the back of a bluebird, that
fluttering fragment dropped from the blue vault
of Heaven. No woods are dreary if the jays
or crows are calling; no field but is full of joy
if the bobolinks are sprinkling it with their song;
and he is not quite human whose heart does not
beat faster when at night and far above him he
hears the cry of the wild gander as he leads his
flying squadrons northward, homeward, through
the pathways of the skies. To a lover of nature
it seems there is no time or place that the pres-
ence of living native birds does not add to one's
happiness. Tn camp on a New England moun-
tain top in the cool daybreak of a summer morn-
ing, the wonders of the coming sunrise are
heralded by the voices of the hermit thrushes
rising in chorus from the dawn-lighted spruce
spires below. The loneliness of the marsh at

^Esthetic and Moral Reasons 117

noonday vanishes as a stately heron flaps across
the stagnant water and silently joins our vigil.
In the afternoon among the flower-beds the soft
purr of a humming-bird's motor causes us to
smile as we realize that we are not alone in the
garden. In the dusk of evening the call of the
soft-voiced, invisible whippoorwill adds charm-
ing mystery to the gathering shadows of the
roadside; and the glories of a winter night in
the big woods are not complete without the
deep-toned hooting of an owl to speak of the
majesty of solitude. By the wonderful and
delightful feeling of companionship which they
create, birds lure us into the open — away from
the cities, into the woods and fields and beside
the rivers and the ocean beach, where the air
and sunlight are pure and full of health and
life. And perhaps, after all, this is just as im-
portant as keeping the beetles out of the potato
patch.

So it would seem that all but particularly
stupid or particularly thoughtless persons must
be interested in birds entirely apart from their
economic value, and to many they are the source
of the greatest joy in life. Even primitive
peoples have been deeply impressed by the
remarkable forms and colors of birds; by their
tranquil songs, their thrilling cries, and their

n8 Wild Bird Guests

weird calls; and by their seemingly mysterious
gatherings and disappearances and reappear-
ances. It is hardly strange that these wonderful
creatures, so different from all other forms of life,
yet so human in many of their attributes, which
had mastered the air and which came and went
at will through paths where none could follow,
should exert a powerful influence on the minds
of peoples seeking to solve, without the aid of
science, the mysteries of nature. So birds came
to be invested with supernatural powers, some
for good and some for evil; they became the
subjects of story and legend and in this way
interwoven with ancient folklore and symbol-
ism. In Percy Mackaye's famous bird masque,
Sanctuary, Ornis, the Spirit of All Birds, in her
appeal to Stark, the Plume-hunter, says:

" Do you not know me ? I am she
Whom first beneath the dark ancestral tree,
You rose upon your feet to hearken to.
By me you grew

To song and freedom. Round your olden feasts
You watched my circling flights, whereby your

priests

Proclaimed their omens and their oracles;
My cranes announced your victories, my storks
Fed your hearth fires, my silver-throated gulls
And golden hawks
Saved many your sea towns from sore pestilence;

^Esthetic and Moral Reasons 119

And my sweet night bird tuned your poets ' shells

To lull sad lovers in languorous asphodels;

Yet all my influence

Shone dimmer than my beauty : my bright plumes

Lured you to squander them, till, in the fumes

Of greed, your heart forgot to cherish me,

And sold me unto death and slavery."

And much of this symbolism and not a little
of the superstition with it, has been handed down
to us and is part of our every-day life and con-
versation. For example, the dove is the emblem
of gentleness and peace ; the eagle of war and
aggressive power; the nightingale of song; the
owl of wisdom; the vulture of greed, and the
raven of darkness and disaster. Nor are we
entirely dependent on the ancients for such
symbols; we are beginning to adopt new ones.
Our chickadee has become the symbol of friend-
liness, our robin of cheerfulness, and our blue-
bird of happiness. And it will pay us to learn,
as many have already learned, that the happiness
which comes with the bluebird in the spring,
may be made to last through the rest of the year
by sympathetic association with the other birds
in their season.

In decorative art, especially in Oriental deco-
rative art, birds have a very important place.
For example, the artists of Japan seem never to

I2O Wild Bird Guests

tire of using birds in their schemes of decoration.
All kinds of birds are used and nearly always with
beautiful effect. Sometimes it is a song bird,
sitting with swelled throat and parted bill, among
the delicately tinted blossoms of cherry or wild
plum; again it is a heron standing on one leg
beside a conventional stream, or a crow perched
on a leafless branch amid the winter whiteness;
and still again it is a flock of swallows or wild
geese flung out across the sky and telling their
story as well as if the picture had been labelled
"Spring.55 .

It can hardly be doubted that in the origin of
music the songs of birds were among the first
suggestions supplied to primitive musicians by
external nature. Later instrumental composers
have found in the imitation of Nature's voices
a distinct phase of musical expression, and in
this the calls and songs of birds hold a conspicu-
ous place. The call of the cuckoo was a
favorite motive among early instrumental com-
posers, and was used by Beethoven in the
Scene by a Brook, in the Pastoral Symphony,
together with the songs of the nightingale and the
call of the quail. Another very notable example
of the employment of bird notes by great com-
posers, is found in Wagner's Siegfried. Sieg-
fried listens to the songs of birds, made plain to

./Esthetic and Moral Reasons 121

him by a taste of the dragon's blood. A bird
sings to him of Briinhilde, the flame-encircled
warrior maiden. The bird wings its flight
through the forest and Siegfried follows joy-
ously.

In Haydn's The Creation a soprano sings: —

"On mighty pens uplifted soars
The eagle aloft and cleaves the air
In swiftest flight to the blazing sun.
His welcome bids to morn the merry lark,
And cooing calls the tender dove his mate.
From every bush and grove resound
The nightingale's delightful notes;
No grief affected yet her breast,
Nor to a mournful tale were turned
Her soft enchanting lays. "

Grieg's beautiful Spring song fairly twitters
with the joyous notes of birds, and this, with
Schubert's "Hark, hark, the lark," from Cymbe-
line and Abt's When the Swallows Homeward Fly
are among the many familiar examples which
might be cited of the contribution which birds,
directly and indirectly, have made to music.

And birds have affected literature even more.
Thousands of books have been written either
wholly or partly on birds. Many of these are
English, but all civilized peoples have their
books on this subject. One of the most beauti-

122 Wild Bird Guests

ful and poetic is The Bird, by the great
French historian, Jules Michelet. As for the
poets, few of them have been able to resist the
power of the birds, and indeed it would seem
that a poet could hardly remain unaffected by
the charm of beings so essentially poetic. Some
of the very earliest English poems, in some cases
anonymous, had birds for their themes. Chaucer
was a bird lover and continually shows it. King
James the First of Scotland, in the early part of
the fifteenth century wrote Spring Song of the
Birds. Edmund Spenser wrote of feathered folk;
Shakespeare alludes to them again and again,
and William Blake never more tersely showed
his sympathy for them than when he wrote:

" A robin redbreast in a cage
Puts all heaven in a rage."

Nearly all the later English poets, Milton, Pope,
Cowper, Burns, Wordsworth, Hogg, Scott, Cole-
ridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Hood, Tennyson,
Browning, Rossetti, Wilde, and many others
have received inspiration from the birds. The
skylark alone has inspired many of them, and
perhaps none of the poems of Hogg or Shelley
are better known than their odes to this famous
songster.
A few years ago the writer had reason to visit

^Esthetic and Moral Reasons 123

a New York department store, and there he made
the acquaintance of the "chanticleer" bow, at
that moment, the "latest thing5' in women's
neck wear. It was made of fluted satin ribbon,
and would have been commonplace enough but
for the fact that in the center of it was the head
of an English skylark. And it was but one of
scores of similar bows exposed to the indifferent
gaze of thousands, some of whom stopped to buy
for money what no money on earth should be
permitted to buy. The writer is not a poet, but
a boyhood spent in England made him an ardent
lover of the skylark, and perhaps the reader can
guess what feelings possessed him when he saw
the mummied head of that modest little bard
on a tawdry bow in a department store. Per-
haps what he felt most keenly was the degra-
dation of the bird, and it filled him with such
indignation that he sought the manager of the
store and registered a vigorous protest. This
was followed by a written one to the proprietors
and by a letter which was printed in the New
York Times. But the National Association of
Audubon Societies, under the direction of Wil-
liam Dutcher was already at work on the case, and
it was but a short time before the sale of chanti-
cleer bows was stopped — let us hope forever.
And American poets have held their own in

124 Wild Bird Guests

showing appreciation of wild birds; Bryant,
Drake, Emerson, Whittier, Longfellow, Poe,
Holmes, Van Dyke, and Mackaye are among the
many who have tuned their lyres to the songs of
birds. Of all Poe's poems the best known is The
Raven; of Bryant's, few are better known than
To a Waterfowl. How birds can awaken poetry
in the heart of a child is shown by The Hermit
Thrush, written by Percy Mackaye's little
daughter Arvia at the age of nine. In short, as
John Burroughs indicates in his book Birds and
Poets, these bards are inseparable, and Tennyson
must have felt this when he wrote The Poet's Song:

" And he sat him down in a lonely place,

And chanted a melody loud and sweet,
That made the wild swan pause in her cloud,

And the lark drop down at his feet.
The swallow stopt as he hunted the bee,

The snake slipt under a spray,
The wild hawk stood with the down on his beak,

And stared, with his foot on the prey,
And the nightingale thought, ' I have sung many songs,

But never a one so gay,
For he sings of what the world will be,

When the years have died away/"

And perhaps our own Van Dyke felt it even more
deeply when at the close of his lovely poem on
The 7 eery he sings :

./Esthetic and Moral Reasons 125

"And when my light of life is low,
And heart and flesh are weary,
I fain would hear before I go
The wood note of the veery."

And I have noticed that the work of providing for
the needs of wild birds has a wonderfully good
effect upon the people engaged in it. In the first
place it awakens or stimulates an interest in an
important and fascinating subject, and provides
for the mental and physical activities an out-
let which can lead only to good. Through it the
coming generation will get practical experience
in the conservation of our natural resources, and
thus by taking part in a great national movement
they will at an early age begin to feel the joy of
being useful. Most work of a public nature is
impractical for children, but here is a work in
which young people can be almost as useful as
older ones and at the same time provide for
themselves one of the sweetest and most satisfy-
ing hobbies known to man. Work for the birds
tends to thoughtfulness and consideration; in-
asmuch as it is inspired by the work the birds
do for us, it encourages appreciation and grati-
tude, and a sense of justice and fair play; as it
brings to the worker a sense of the helplessness
of his feathered friends at certain times, it be-
gets feelings of humanity, kindness, sympathy,

126 Wild Bird Guests

and compassion and stimulates warmth of heart;
and if some personal sacrifice is required in order
to do this work, the worker gets practice in un-
selfishness. And it is the opinion of the author
that if children once learn these things, they
will have made a very fair start towards good
citizenship if they are not taught anything else.

CHAPTER VII

THE ENTERTAINMENT OF WILD BIRDS IN WINTER

IF we are lovers of birds (and who would like
to admit that he is not one) that fact alone
should be sufficient to insure our feeding them
in winter; for it is not conceivable that we would
allow those whom we love to run the risk of
starving to death, if by any reasonable effort
we could prevent it. In spite of all we can do,
many birds will die of starvation almost every
winter, but the more of us there are who will give
even a little thought, go to even a little trouble
for their welfare, the fewer deaths there will be.

Looking at the matter merely from the stand-
point of our own pleasure we shall soon learn that
by feeding the birds regularly we shall make a lot
of new friends, and that with a little patience
and a little ingenuity sometimes, we may soon
be on terms of the most delightful intimacy with
them. At our home we are continually hav-
ing unique and interesting experiences with the
birds which accept our hospitality. We had one

127

128 Wild Bird Guests

only this morning, September 19, 1914. A little
band of chickadees came into our lilac bushes,
and thence flew down to a bird bath made from
a huge shell and took their baths. Mrs. Baynes
went out and called them, and two of them
alighted upon her at once. One was dingy in
color and somewhat dishevelled, and looked as
though it might have just finished a very tedi-
ous nesting season. The other looked very
clean and fresh and by its voice alone we
knew it to be a young one. On the left leg of
the dingy one was a tiny aluminum band, and
as the bird preened its feathers we could read
on this band the number. Instantly we knew
her for an old friend of ours. Year before last
she nested in a Berlepsch nest box in our garden,
and was so tame, doubtless because we had fed
her the winter before, that she came straight
from the nest to Mrs. Baynes' hand for nut-
meat. On one occasion I went up a ladder to the
nest box, and this bird alighted at the entrance
hole. She was so fearless that I put my hand
gently over her, and placed the little band upon
her leg. That was over two years ago and here
she was back again, fearless as ever, and with a
young one, very likely one of her own.

Some of us feed the birds all the year round,
because we like to see them about. Moreover,

Entertainment in Winter 129

they are more likely to nest in or near the garden
if they are in the habit of coming there for food
every day, and we believe that if it does cost us
a few pennies for seed and suet, it pays in
more ways than one. As a rule, no matter how
much food is put out the birds seem to regard
it simply as a reserve supply and continue to
get nine-tenths of their living in the usual way.
Purple finches are notable exceptions to this rule;
it has been my experience that they absolutely
refuse to work as long as they are well supplied
with seed. But then, the male purple finch is
a splendid singer and has a long period of song,
and perhaps he should be excused from further
work on the ground that he is an artist.

But the birds actually need food only when for
some reason their natural supply is not to be had.
This is often the case in winter, especially after
heavy snowstorms. At such times let us pay no
attention to the wiseacres who tell us that we are
pauperizing the birds; they might just as well
argue against supplying food to starving men.
Let us save the lives of a few thousand birds and
then if anyone finds that we have made a mistake
in doing this, we'll stand the consequences.

Perhaps no branch of bird-feeding work is
more in need of consideration at this time than
that which provides for the great army of game

130 Wild Bird Guests

birds and others which struggle along as best
they can in the woods and fields. It would seem
to be the duty of the people in every town where
deep snows prevail in winter, to see that their
own birds are provided for and not allowed to
starve; and it has been my experience that nice
people of all classes are of just one mind on this
subject. The only question which should be
raised at such a time is, "How shall we do it?"
If there is a really live, efficient bird club in the
town, it will answer this question promptly,
and if there are Boy Scouts in the neighborhood,
of course they will cooperate with enthusiasm.
If there is no such club, then one should be or-
ganized as soon as possible, and in the meantime
I will suggest a plan which has proved successful
in several different towns, and which may help
until a better one is thought out.

First of all, two or three enthusiasts call a
meeting of all those interested in the welfare of
the wild birds. This is done through the local
paper, if there is one, or through the school-
children, or both, or in any other way which may
be convenient. A special effort is made to have
this meeting attended by the superintendent of
schools, and as many principals, teachers, and
ministers as possible; this tends to impress the
school-children and others with the dignity and

,/

ia>

f Slaved /rcm

'

<7

0 f /? /)

Entertainment in Winter 131

importance of the work, and has a good general
effect. The necessity for feeding the birds in
winter is explained very carefully, and then a
few committees are appointed to arrange details.
One committee devotes itself to obtaining bird-
food and money to buy food, and sometimes
calls to its assistance such available outsiders as
may be able to help. There are very few people
in any American town who will refuse to help
such work along in one way or another, if the
matter is brought directly to their attention in
a proper way. It is usually possible to approach
many people personally; but, in any case, the
school-children can be urged to explain the
matter to their parents, and local papers are
usually very willing to make known the needs
of the committee. Local grocers, butchers, and
grain-dealers I have found to be among the most
generous contributors, and often, after they
have given all they can afford, they will sell to
the bird-feeders a considerable amount of food
at cost.

In the meantime another committee is busy
getting the names of volunteers to distribute the
food in the woods and fields. Here let me say
that this work is not, as a rule, suitable for small
children, girls, or women ; it should be done by
strong, healthy boys, and by such men as can af-

132 Wild Bird Guests

ford or will make the time. It has been my ex-
perience that no better workers can be found than
the boys from the high schools and the upper
grades of the grammar schools ; this is especially
true if they belong to the Boy Scouts. As a rule
their work should be superintended by some
older person in whom they have confidence.
But, whoever the workers are, they should have
the support of the entire community; they are
engaged in a public work of great value.

The coming of the first real snowstorm is
considered the signal for the beginning of opera-
tions. The volunteers meet at some convenient
building, as the high school or the town hall,
where the bird-food has previously been stored,
and if they are wise, they come dressed for work
in the snow. The country in and about the
town is divided into sections, and a squad vary-
ing in size with the number of volunteers and
the amount of territory to be covered, is sent to
each section. Usually a squad consists of two,
three, or four boys, who may or may not have
an older person as leader. Each squad should
be provided with snow-shovels to remove the
snow, or better, snowshoes to trample it down
hard. They should also have a bag or basket
to carry a mixture of grain and birdseed, a
quantity of fat meat or suet, and plenty of string

Entertainment in Winter 133

with which to tie it to the trunks and branches of
trees. The suet or other fat, which is, of course,
intended chiefly for the insectivorous birds, is
displayed in conspicuous places on the branches
of trees, and the string is wound round and round
so as to form a sort of net which prevents the
food from falling to the ground even after it has
grown beautifully smaller under the attacks of
hungry birds. This network of string also pre-
vents a crow or a blue jay from carrying off the
whole lump at once. It has been found wise to use
three or four separate pieces of string, so that if
a squirrel comes along and cuts one of them, the
suet, being held by the others will not fall to the
ground. Another way to prevent troubles of
this kind is to flatten out a large lump of suet
against a tree trunk and fasten over itwith staples
a square foot of half-inch wire netting. If the
upper edge is fastened rather lightly, this netting
may be made to form a pocket which may be
opened and stuffed with more suet as occasion
requires. Here any hungry bird can get a
meal on the spot, but no selfish one can leave his
fellows in distress by carrying home the whole
feast.

As a rule, the best places to distribute grain,
seed, etc., are in the middle of wide-open fields
and pastures, which can be seen for a consider-

134 Wild Bird Guests

able distance by birds flying over. On reaching
such a spot the members of the squad fall to
with their shovels or snowshoes and clear or
trample a space from ten to twenty feet square.
If the food were thrown on untrodden snow,
it would be likely to sink in at the first
thaw, and then it would be quite out of the
reach of most of the hungry ones. After scat-
tering a quantity of grain, the squad moves on
perhaps half a mile, and repeats the operation,
establishing as many feeding stations as possi-
ble in its own section during the time at its
disposal.

Of course it may be somewhat disheartening
to find that seed scattered during the afternoon is
covered up by snow next morning, as sometimes
happens; but boys with the right stuff in them
will not be discouraged, but will stand up to their
work until it is finished. The high-school boys
of Stoneham, Massachusetts, were among the
first to show that no amount of snow could dis-
courage bird-feeders who had the proper spirit,
and in the unusually severe winter of 1903-1904,
they got out with their snow-shovels and grain
and suet after every storm, and established and
maintained a chain of seventy-five feeding sta-
tions around their town; so that no intelligent
bird could get either in or out without taking

Entertainment in Winter 135

a meal, if he wanted one. These boys fed thou-
sands of hungry birds that winter, and made their
school famous. By their splendid work they
saved a few of the very few flocks of Massachu-
setts quail which survived that winter. If all the
high schools in the state had been organized for
this work, the death of unnumbered bobwhites
would have been prevented.

Every farmer should make a point of keeping
the birds in his fields and woodland supplied with
food during bad weather, for, as we have seen,
he is amongst those most greatly benefited by the
presence of birds. Besides, he generally has on
hand plenty of food in the shape of wheat, oats,
etc., which can be offered whole to the large birds
and ground to the small ones.

Country doctors, rural postmen, and others
who have to take long drives through the country
in winter, can perform valuable service by dis-
tributing food at likely spots or by reporting to
the regular bird-feeders coveys of quail, or signs
of coveys, seen or heard of at points along the
route.

Snowshoeing, skiing, sleighing parties, and
others out for pleasure during the winter may
well assist in this work by establishing a feeding
station here and there, and if they are thoughtful
people, the thought that they have done a kindly

136 Wild Bird Guests

and useful act will tend to increase their pleasure,
and will greatly add to their store of pleasant
memories.

By working together in this way, the people
of each town and village and hamlet can take care
of its own birds, and the result will be a marked
increase in their numbers without very much
trouble or expense to any one person.

But it is the feeding of the birds in the home
grounds, in the gardens, and orchards that ap-
peals to the greatest number of people. Here is
a work in which almost everyone, little children
and elderly people included, can take an active
part. And here, as a rule, will begin those strong
friendships for birds which will make the stanch
bird-protectors of the future. Here will come
many of those delightful experiences with birds
which will be among the purest delights of child-
hood, which will surely be looked forward to and
repeated with pleasure and satisfaction as the
years go by, and which we can never grow too old
to enjoy.

Unless we are among the few who feed the
birds all the year round, we should begin to pre-
pare rather early for the winter work. Even
before the first frosts begin to suggest the coming
of colder weather we may order from the butcher
a few pounds of suet or fat fresh pork, and find

Entertainment in Winter 137

out the best place to buy birdseed. By buying
seed at wholesale, say one hundred pounds at a
time, it may be had at a very low price. For
example, the Meriden Bird Club buys its hemp
seed at four cents a pound, when the retail price
per pound is ten cents. We buy other seeds at
equally low rates. Many people do not care to
buy so much seed at once, but if there is a bird
club in town, the club can buy it in large quanti-
ties and sell it to members at cost. Or, if there
is no club, a few neighbors can club together,
order a hundred pounds or more sent to one
address, and then divide it afterwards.

Hemp seed and Japanese millet are among the
best seeds to offer the birds in winter ; most of the
seed-eating birds will eat one or both of these,
and chickadees and nuthatches chiefly insectivor-
ous, are very fond of hemp. Sunflower and
canary seed are both eaten by a number of birds,
as are squash and pumpkin seeds, corn, oats,
wheat, bread crumbs, doughnut crumbs, dog-
biscuit crumbs and the seeds to be found in barn-
floor sweepings. Nuts are a favorite food of
chickadees, nuthatches, and some other birds,
but of course those with hard shells must be
cracked before being served.

As a substitute for insect food there is nothing
better than suet, unless it be the mixture known

138 Wild Bird Guests

as "food-stone," the receipt for which I shall
give farther on. Suet is easy to get and easy to
handle, many birds like it and eat it freely, it is
warmth-producing and nourishing, it keeps fresh
for a long time and when it becomes rancid the
birds seem to like it just as well. As I look out
of my window at this moment, I can see a downy
woodpecker feeding on suet which was put up
about a year ago.

I give below a list, by no means exhaustive,
of foods in general use for the winter feeding of
wild birds ; with each kind of food will be found
the names of at least some of the birds which have
been seen eating it.

SUET. Screech owl, hairy woodpecker, downy
woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, flicker, blue
jay, crow, Clark's nutcracker, starling, tree
sparrow, junco, rose-breasted grosbeak, myrtle
warbler, brown creeper, white-breasted nuthatch,
red-breasted nuthatch, chickadee, Hudsonian
chickadee, hermit thrush.

FAT PORK. Hairy woodpecker, downy wood-
pecker, blue jay, crow, white-breasted nuthatch,
tufted titmouse, chickadee.

RAW MEAT. Screech owl, hairy woodpecker,
downy woodpecker, blue jay, white-breasted
nuthatch, chickadee.

HEMP SEED. Pine grosbeak, purple finch,

Entertainment in Winter 139

redpoll, goldfinch, pine siskin, vesper sparrow,
white-crowned sparrow, white-throated sparrow,
junco, song sparrow, white-breasted nuthatch,
chickadee.

MILLET SEED. Purple finch, redpoll, gold-
finch, pine siskin, vesper sparrow, white-throated
sparrow, tree sparrow, chipping sparrow, junco,
song sparrow, fox sparrow.

CRACKED CORN. Shore lark, blue jay, crow,
snow bunting, Lapland longspur, tree sparrow,
junco, cardinal grosbeak, white-breasted nut-
hatch.

BREAD CRUMBS. Blue jay, crow, tree sparrow,
white-crowned sparrow, junco, cardinal gros-
beak, mocking bird, brown creeper, chickadee.

BROKEN NUTS. Blue jay, white-crowned
sparrow, junco, cardinal grosbeak, white-breasted
nuthatch, red-breasted nuthatch, tufted titmouse,
chickadee.

DOG BISCUIT CRUMBS. Blue jay, snow bunt-
ing, tree sparrow, junco, white-breasted nuthatch,
chickadee.

SUNFLOWER SEEDS. Blue jay, purple finch,
goldfinch, white-breasted nuthatch, chickadee.

CHAFF. Quail, shore lark, Lapland longspur,
snow bunting, tree sparrow.

OATS. Quail, ruffed grouse, yellow-headed
blackbird, snow bunting, chickadee.

140 Wild Bird Guests

WHOLE CORN. Blue jay, crow, white-breasted
nuthatch, chickadee.

CANARY SEED. Goldfinch, vesper sparrow,
junco, song sparrow.

DOUGHNUT CRUMBS. Blue jay, crow, white-
breasted nuthatch, chickadee.

WHEAT. Quail, ruffed grouse.

KAFFIR CORN. White-throated sparrow, song
sparrow,

BROKEN SQUASH SEED. White-breasted nut-
hatch, chickadee.

SALT, SALT WATER, AND MUD IMPREGNATED
WITH SALT. White-winged crossbill, American
crossbill.

The author is very well aware that the above
lists are not complete, either with regard to the
kinds of food which the winter birds will eat,
or with regard to the kinds of birds which will
eat the foods which are mentioned. These lists
can be made complete only as a result of the
careful experiments of many observers working
for a considerable period over a wide territory.
At present they are as complete as can be made
from other records compiled by Gilbert H.
Trafton, by the author himself, and by other
members of the Meriden Bird Club. They will
enable the reader to make a fair start and he can

Jj

Entertainment in Winter 141

then experiment for himself as much as time
and inclination will permit.

In addition to food, many birds will appreciate
a little grit which is often hard to get in winter.
Sand is best, perhaps, but coal ashes will do and
a flock of crossbills which made us a long visit
a year or two ago, spent hours every day picking
up particles of mortar which we obtained from
some old bricks and pounded up with a hammer.
We might never have guessed how fond they were
of this particular kind of grit, had we not seen
them swarming over a ruined building, and dis-
covered with the aid of a field-glass that appar-
ently they were nibbling the mortar which held
the bricks together. We got some of this mortar,
pounded it up, and scattered it on well-trampled
snow in the garden and down came the cross-
bills, not only that day but every day for weeks.
The flock usually arrived between half-past seven
and eight o'clock in the morning, and were en-
gaged in eating mortar until between one and
two in the afternoon, when the greater part of
them disappeared in the evergreen forest nearby,
not to be seen again until the following morning.
They became very fearless, coming to windows,
allowing us to walk about among them when
they were feeding, alighting freely on our hands
and heads, and even permitting us to pick them

142 Wild Bird Guests

up, one in each hand. When sometimes I lay
on the ground among them, they would poke
their heads into my sleeves and if my ulster was
not tightly buttoned, some of them would creep
inside. While they were in the garden they
kept up an incessant musical twittering, which
added greatly to the pleasure they gave us.

But to return to our work. There are certain
appliances such as food houses, window boxes,
food trolleys, etc., which it is very pleasant to
have and which may be made at home or by local
carpenters, or which may be bought ready-made.
But if we cannot afford either the time to make
them or the money to buy these things, we
can get along pretty well without them. Let us
get out our food early. The birds may not eat
much of it at first, but they will have a chance
to find out where it is, and be able to go directly
to it when they really need it. We might begin
by putting out some suet. I believe in having
rather large pieces, weighing say about a pound
apiece, at a few principal points and a num-
ber of smaller pieces scattered more widely, in
order to attract the attention of as many birds
as possible and guide them to the larger lumps.
If our final object is to attract the birds to points
near the house, let us first select the side of the
house to which we wish to bring them. If we

Entertainment in Winter 143

try to attract them to all sides, we can probably
do it, but shall not have as many in any one
place. Usually people like to have them come to
points where they can be seen from the principal
living-room. Suppose then that we decide on
this plan. Let us look out of the window and see
if we can find a tree say seventy-five or a hundred
feet away to which we can tie one of our lumps
of suet. Let us suppose that we see such a tree,
and that there is a well-exposed branch from
eight to twelve feet from the ground. We fix
that branch in our minds, and suet in hand we go
out to the tree. Perhaps we can easily climb to
the branch ; but if not, we can get a ladder. We
should have three or four pieces of soft string of
convenient length, and with one of these tie the
suet at just the place and in just the position we
want it. It is well to have it either on top of the
branch or on the side of it; if it is fastened
underneath, certain birds which like suet would
find it hard to get at. If it is fastened on the side
of the branch, of course it should be on the
side nearer the house where it can be seen. The
other pieces of string should now be crisscrossed
back and forth, and should bite into the suet a
little at each turn, so that it may be left snug and
tight. The loose ends of the string may now be
cut off and the deed is done.

144 Wild Bird Guests

Next let us go to a tree say from ten to twenty
feet from the window, and there we will tie a
second piece of suet at about the height of the
window itself. A third piece we will tie either to
the window-sill or to a stick or a board which may
be fastened to the window-sill. Those three we
will call our main suet stations. Smaller pieces
of suet we will tie in trees and shrubs out in all
directions from the house and further away from
it. These distant ones will probably be visited
first, and as the birds gain confidence they should
come nearer and nearer until they come to the
window itself.

To encourage those who may think it a difficult
matter to gain the confidence of our feathered
neighbors, I give the following list of twenty-two
kinds of birds which have come to feed at win-
dows in the village of Meriden, New Hampshire,
where we have been feeding for the past four
years. Those marked with a star have visited
our own window:

* Hairy woodpecker, * downy woodpecker,
*ruby-throated humming bird, *blue jay, *pine
grosbeak, *purple finch, *white-winged crossbill,
*redpoll, *pine siskin, vesper sparrow, white-
crowned sparrow, white-throated sparrow, tree
sparrow, chipping sparrow, junco, song sparrow,
*myrtle warbler, *winter wren, *white-breasted

Entertainment in Winter 145

nuthatch, red-breasted nuthatch, *chickadee,
*Hudsonian chickadee. This is probably the
largest list for any one town or village.

The red-bellied woodpecker, snow bunting,
fox sparrow, brown creeper, and hermit thrush,
have also been known to feed at the windows of
houses, but they have never done so in Meriden,
though we have them all here with the exception
of the woodpecker.

If it becomes necessary to put out more suet
during the intensely cold weather, we shall find
it a good plan to bring some short branches into
the house, and tie on the suet there in comfort.
Then, if we drive a couple of wire nails part way
through each branch, we can carry it out and
quickly nail to any tree we like.

If we wish to go to just a little more expense,
we can make the suet-pockets of half-inch wire
netting and staple them to the trunks of trees
instead of tying the suet itself to the branches.

The simplest way to feed the seed-eating birds
is to scatter the food on the ground. If there
is soft, deep snow, the food should not be thrown
upon it. Seed and most other foods quickly
sink into soft snow, and besides most birds do not
like to flounder about in the snowdrifts in order
to get a bite to eat. The snow may be swept or
shovelled away, but personally, I much prefer

10

146 Wild Bird Guests

to trample it down. It is not easy, even with
a snow-shovel, to thoroughly clear a generous
space where there is long grass or weeds ; cleared
spaces are apt to become wet or muddy and
are usually unsightly. The trampling process is
quicker, much quicker if we have snowshoes,
it makes no unsightly patches, and moreover
the well-trodden snow forms the most pleasing
background against which to see our feathered
guests.

It is best to put out a day's supply of fresh
food each morning; the birds learn to connect
our appearance with the coming of good things
for them, and gradually lose their fear of us.
Moreover, by putting out comparatively small
quantities of food we avoid the danger of un-
necessary waste when snowstorms come and
cover up whatever is on the ground. If there
is danger from cats we should select for our
feeding station a space well out in the open; if
there are shrubs or other tall plants about, the
cats will be able to creep up within leaping
distance before the birds are aware of their
presence.

This much we can do without any appliances,
and at no expense beyond the cost of the food.
But some of us will wish to make rather more
elaborate preparations, so I shall now describe

Entertainment in Winter 147

some of the feeding devices which I have tried
and found satisfactory for attracting birds to the
home grounds.

The Food Tray

One of the simplest devices is a food tray or
lunch counter which anyone can make, if it can
be said to need making. It may be a shallow
cigar box, though this is rather small. A better
one could be made from a piece of board say a
foot or eighteen inches wide, and two or three
feet long with laths or similar strips of wood
nailed around to form a rim, so that the seeds
will not roll off. A good-sized hole should be
bored in each corner, and over each, on the
under side of the tray, should be tacked a piece
of wire netting. This will prevent the tray from
becoming full of water when it rains. Such a
tray, with a stick below to brace it, may be
fastened to a tree, to the window sill, or both,
and if a supply of food is kept in it all the time,
the birds are sure to find it. If a roof is arranged
over it, it becomes a "food shelter/' and will
not require sweeping off after every snowstorm.
Besides putting seed and other food in the tray
itself we sometimes fasten to the tray an upright
branch or small log and to this attach a piece
of suet. This is for the convenience of any

148 Wild Bird Guests

woodpeckers which may come, though it is not
really necessary even for them.

The Window Box

Few devices have given more satisfaction to
members of our household than the window
box, which was made from a sketch kindly sent to
me by William Dutcher, President of the Na-
tional Association of Audubon Societies. It is
made to fit the open window, the sash coming
down snug into a groove in the woodwork at the
top. It projects into the room about a foot. The
top, back, and sides are of glass, which helps to
give the room a cheerful sunny appearance.
The floor of the box is of wood and in the form of
a tray projects into the garden ten or twelve
inches. At the top, and inside the room, of
course, is a hinged lid through which we put the
food, and which can be used to ventilate the room
when necessary. This window box has proved a
great success, and at different times I have seen
it filled with blue jays, pine grosbeaks, redpolls,
crossbills, and chickadees, while many other
birds have come in smaller numbers. At first
we helped the birds to find it by erecting in the
garden, about ten feet from the window, an old
stump to which we tied big lumps of suet. Birds

Entertainment in Winter 149

began to come to the stump and from there they
would come to the feast arranged for them in the
window box. The stump was then removed but
the birds continued to come to the window in
ever increasing numbers. Some people prefer
to have their window boxes fastened to the
window sill but entirely outside the window.
This is almost as good but you can't have the
birds quite so near, and it is not quite so easy to
put in the food. On the other hand, almost
anyone can make an outside window box, while
one required to fit the sash of an open window
well enough to keep out the draught, must, as a
rule, be made by a carpenter.

The Weathercock Food House

Another device suggested to me by Mr.
Dutcher, which has proved equally successful,
is what I have named the "Weathercock" food
house, because, like a weathercock it moves with
the wind. It is little more than a well-made food
shelter, set on a pole, and pivoted so that it can
revolve horizontally. Two paddle-shaped arms
or wings extend one on either side to catch the
wind, which thus turns the open side of the house
away from the storms at all times. The back is a
single sheet of glass and sometimes the sides are

Entertainment in Winter 151

also of glass. All kinds of winter birds and a
number of summer birds, too, come to this house,
and they don't mind the motion of it any more
than we mind the motion of an express train,
when we're sitting in the dining-car.

After we have been attracting the birds for a
little while, every corner of the garden will have
some interesting association connected with the
work, every device or appliance we have used
will recall some delightful or amusing incident.
The mere mention of our "Weathercock" re-
minds me of a joke it once helped me to play.
Mrs. Baynes had for some time been busy color-
ing a set of artificial birds made of cardboard
which she intended to present to a school. She
had begun work on the blue jay, arid asked me if
I could find for her a good picture of the bird
from which she could sketch the markings of the
wings. I found several but they would not do,
chiefly because they showed the wings folded,
whereas the bird she was making had the wings
extended. At last I said, jokingly, "Well, I
see there is nothing for me to do but go out into
the garden and catch you a live one." With that
I walked from her room into my study, and
looking out of the window saw a flock of blue
jays feeding in the "Weathercock." At that
moment something startled them and out they

152 Wild Bird Guests

flew, — all but one, and he flew into the glass
at the back. Then he lost his head, and began
fighting the glass, and I opened the front door,
walked across the lawn, and caught him. Spread-
ing out one of his wings, I went back into Mrs.
Baynes's room, and without a trace of a smile,
asked, "Will this do?" You can imagine her
astonishment better than I can describe it. She
made her notes on the marking of the wings, then
we put an aluminum band on the bird's leg, and
let him go. It was exactly a month before we saw
him feeding with other jays in the window box.

The Audubon Food House

Then Mr. Frederic H. Kennard, the landscape
architect, sent us a plan of a food house which
he had designed and found successful on his own
estate at Newton Centre, Massachusetts. It
was an adaptation of a device invented by Baron
Hans von Berlepsch, the great German bird
lover, of whose interesting experiments I shall
speak again later on. As may be seen in the
illustrations, it consists of two food trays, one
above another, the upper and larger being
protected from the snow and rain by a four-
sided "hopper" roof, and from the wind by an
"apron" of glass which falls from the roof, the

Entertainment in Winter

153

Plan for an " Audubon " food house.

whole supported by a single rustic pole running
to the peak. We called this the "Audubon"
food house, and it has been proved a success in
half a dozen gardens in Meriden, and in hundreds
of others in different parts of the country. This
food house should be erected among or near
shrubs or beneath the low-growing branches of a

154 Wild Bird Guests

tree — at least it is in such a place that it will
be most quickly discovered by the birds. Until
the latter become acquainted with it, food should
be put in both trays. The lower and unprotected
tray is the more conspicuous and will, of course,
be seen first. When the food has gone from that,
or sometimes before it has gone, some of the
birds will find their way to the upper tray and the
rest will soon follow. After that no more food
need be put in the lower tray. In case the birds
are a little slow in finding their way about, one
or two crooked twigs arranged so that they
connect the two trays, will usually show the little
guests their way "upstairs." These twigs may
be removed a few days later. The glass apron,
in addition to serving as a protection from the
wind, admits light to enable the birds to see what
they are doing, and also permits the host to see
his guests at dinner. For several years now
we have had an "Audubon" food house in our
garden, and during the winter there is a continual
stream of birds going to and from that house.
Our neighbors report similar experiences. Birds
feeding in either this house or the "Weathercock"
would be in little danger from a cat even though
the latter should climb the pole. The cat would
have to climb around over the under side of the
food tray and while the birds would of course

Entertainment in Winter 155

be frightened when her head came up over the
rim, they would have plenty of time to escape
before she would be in a position to spring upon
them.

Several adaptations of the "Audubon" food
house may be made or purchased, the most inter-
esting, perhaps, being one which has a food hop-
per under the roof and connected with the upper
tray to which it supplies seed as fast as the birds
eat it. The top of the roof is removable and half
a bushel or more of seed can be poured in at once.
This is a very good style of house for people who
cannot get out to replenish the food trays them-
selves, or who go to the city in the winter and
wish to be sure that the birds are fed while they
are away. But no matter what kind of feeding
device is used by people who are away from their
country homes during the winter, it is nearly
always possible to arrange to have a country
neighbor replenish the food as it is needed.

The Food Bell

The "food bell" is another device invented by
von Berlepsch, and used especially for feeding
titmice. It consists of a glass receptacle holding
a quart or two of hemp seed, connected at the
bottom with a tube down which the seed falls to

156 Wild Bird Guests

supply a tiny "food dish," which is protected
from the weather by a metal "bell," a foot in
diameter, from which it takes its name. It can
be fastened to trees, piazza posts, or the sides of
windows by means of iron rods which are screwed
into the wood above and below. A piece of suet
or a net bag of nut-meats will serve to guide the
birds to the "food dish" in the first instance.
We have given this device a long trial in Meriden,
and find it very good for chickadees. They fly
up under the bell, and carry off the hemp seed
one at a time to some near perch. Each seed is
held with the feet while the shell is cracked with
the bill. A recent visitor to the bird sanctuary
at Meriden was delighted to find that the chicka-
dees came to the food bell quite unconcerned while
she stood with her hand resting on the bell.

The Food Tree

The "food tree" is simply an evergreen, pre-
ferably a spruce, fir, or hemlock, covered with
bird food. A discarded Christmas tree will answer
the purpose very well. A growing tree should
not be used as the following treatment will kill it.
There is no limit as to size, though a rather small
tree will be found more convenient in every way
than a large one. I generally select one about

Entertainment in Winter 157

twelve feet high, cut off all branches within two
or three feet of the butt before setting it in the
ground, not too far from my window to get a
good view of any bird visitors who may come.
This much may be done in the fall, but beyond
tying on a piece of suet, or scattering a little
seed at the base, perhaps, it is best not to go any
farther until the coming of settled cool weather.
Then there should be poured over the twigs and
branches bubbling hot bird food made from the
following receipt, which is another contribution
from Baron Hans von Berlepsch.

White bread (dried and ground) 4^ oz.

Meat (dried and ground) 3

Hemp 6 "

Crushed hemp 3 "

Maw 3 "

Poppy flour 2^ "

Millet (white) 3 "

Oats i^"

Dried elderberries ij^ '

Sunflower seeds 1^2 "

Ants' eggs i>^ "

To the total quantity of this dry food, must be
added about one and one-half times as much beef
or mutton suet or fat of almost any kind. The

158 Wild Bird Guests

fat must be melted and the dry food stirred in
thoroughly.

This mixture, bubbling hot, should be poured
carefully over all the twigs and branches of the
evergreen, care being taken to keep it well
sitrred up during the operation. It may be
poured with a long-handled ladle held in one
hand, and the drip can be caught in a frying pan
or something similar, held in the other. The
cold air will quickly "set" the fat with all the
good things it contains, on the tree, where both
insectivorous and seed-eating birds will find it,
and each take what he likes best from the variety
of food offered. If there is any of the mixture
left after the tree is covered, it may be poured
into molds and when hard served as "food-cake"
or "food-stone" in the trays or food houses.

It is not necessary to stick very closely to the
receipt. The ground dried beef, the hemp seed,
and the bread crumbs should always be used,
and of course the fat is essential. If certain of
the other ingredients cannot readily be obtained,
they may be left out, or other good foods, such
as nuts and pumpkin seeds, ground or chopped,
may be substituted for them. Now a suggestion
about preparing the meat. The first time I
made this food, I dried the raw beef and at-
tempted to grind it afterwards ; I found myself

Entertainment in Winter 159

in trouble at once. Next time I found it very
much easier to grind the fresh raw beef very fine
in a meat grinder, and then spread it out thin and
dry it in a slow oven. When dried in this way
it may be readily crumbled and mixed with the
other ingredients. Probably every woman knows
this, but the hint may be useful to men and
children.

Another way to use up a small quantity of
the mixture is to pour it over a single detached
branch of an evergreen and then fasten that
branch to any tree in the garden.

A style of food tree very popular with children
is one on which the food is hung as presents are
hung on a Christmas tree. In fact it is some-
times called a "Birds' Christmas Tree." This
may be either a freshly cut tree stuck in the
ground or almost any growing tree in the garden.
To the branches may be hung net bags filled with
nuts or suet, little chunks of bacon, doughnuts,
and similar dainties, or cocoanuts, each with a
good-sized hole in the side and stuffed with
Berlepsch bird food, suet, or any other food that
packs well. The stuffed cocoanut was suggested
to me by Dr. A. K. Fisher, who fills the cavity
with fresh pork fat and black walnut kernels,
and fastens the nut in a tree at his camp near
Washington. Chickadees, tufted titmice, nut-

160 Wild Bird Guests

hatches, downy woodpeckers, and juncos are
among the birds he has had visit him. Some
of them go right inside the nut after they have
eaten all the food which can be reached without
doing so.

The Food Trolley

The food trolley is simply a food tray or lunch
counter provided with grooved wheels by means
of which it can be made to glide along beneath
a wire or wires stretched between some point in
the garden and a higher point, — say an upper
window, at the house. Mr. Gilbert H. Trafton
describes a moving food tray of this kind which
he suspended from a single wire by means of two
pulley wheels set in a frame. This he found, on
the whole, the most satisfactory device he has
tried.

The author's food trolley, which has been on
duty in his garden for several years, embodies the
same general idea. It consists of a food tray
about eighteen inches square, slung below two
wires eighteen inches apart, stretched taut at
the same height between a second-story bed-
room window sill and a wooden bar nailed to a
branch of an apple tree at a point eight feet above
the ground and about a hundred feet from the
house. Four pulley wheels are used, one on each

Barred C ]ujf,^u6ua&

Entertainment in Winter 161

corner of the tray, but the two nearer the house
are screwed to short wooden pillars rising from
the corresponding corners of the tray, so that
although the wires are on a slant, the tray itself
remains horizontal. By means of the pulley
wheels, two on each wire, the tray glides easily
back and forth. It is drawn up to the window by
a string, and runs back down to the apple tree
by its own weight. The chief use of the food
trolley is to encourage shy birds to approach the
house by easy stages. The plan is this. The tray
is drawn up to the window, filled with bird food,
and allowed to run back to the tree. Timid
birds readily come to the tree and very soon
learn to feed from the tray which they find there.
As soon as they begin to come freely, the tray
may be drawn up a few feet nearer the house.
It is best to do this late in the evening after the
birds have finished feeding for the day, and not
having been frightened, when they return in the
morning they will not hesitate to venture the
extra few feet in order to get their breakfast.
Every day or two the tray may be drawn a little
nearer the house until the birds find themselves
feeding at the window.

When used for this purpose, it is best to have
no roof over the tray; very timid birds are afraid
of any device which seems to shut them in. As

162 Wild Bird Guests

for the snow, it is easily brushed off when the tray
is drawn up to the window. Later on, of course,
if the trolley is to be used for feeding purposes
only, it will be an easy matter to construct a
simple roof for it.

No doubt the reader will soon think of other
methods and invent other devices for feeding the
birds in winter, but in the meantime those I
have mentioned will serve all practical purposes.

Do not be discouraged if the birds do not
accept your invitations at once. While some-
times they will come in almost immediately, in
many cases they will not do so for weeks or even
months. But keep food out all the time, so that
when they do come they will find a good reason
why they should come again, and bring their
friends.

CHAPTER VIII

HOSPITALITY ALL THE YEAR 'ROUND

MOST birds will appreciate hospitality at any
season. To some of them at certain times, it is a
matter of life and death. A few there are that
we cannot assist even when they are in greatest
need of assistance. For example, in a preced-
ing chapter we have spoken of the vast num-
ber of birds which are sometimes killed by late
spring storms. Some of these birds, which, like
the purple martins, feed almost wholly on insects
captured on the wing, we may find it impossible
to help. But there are many other birds which
naturally take their food on the ground or from
the trees and bushes and these may in some cases
at least be tided over for a few days until fine
weather makes it possible for them to get their
own living again. In Meriden, New Hampshire,
for instance, a number of us make a practice of
gathering, in the fall, the berries of mountain
ash, wild cherry, and other food plants, and dry-
ing them on the stalks in some place where

163

164 Wild Bird Guests

the mice cannot get at them. Next spring, if a
late snowstorm comes, we tie these berries to
the branches of trees and shrubs in the gardens,
where they are simply gobbled up by hungry
robins, bluebirds, waxwings and others whose
natural food supply has been cut off or curtailed
by the storm. Meal worms are even more
desirable as bird food at such times, but few
people have a good stock of them on hand and
they are very expensive when bought from cage-
bird dealers. As it is quite a simple matter to
raise these so-called "worms," almost any of
us can be prepared to care for the insectivorous
birds made temporarily destitute by the coming
of late snowstorms. The writer, in anticipation
of the perils of such storms, rears meal worms
according to a simple method recommended by
Professor Clifton F. Hodge, who in his valuable
book, Nature Study and Life, has this to say
about them:

"The best insect food for soft-billed birds is
meal worms, and every child that wishes to help
young birds (Professor Hodge here refers to
birds which have fallen from the nest or which
have been wounded) should learn how to rear
them and keep a supply on hand. They are also
excellent food for winter birds and for robins
and bluebirds and many others that come early

Hospitality the Year 'Round 165

in the spring. We do not always have the time
to collect insects in sufficient quantity, but we
can always have a supply of meal worms if we
once learn how to feed them.

"The meal worm is the larva of a black beetle
which can be found from May to October about
granaries, mills, where feed is kept in stables, in
the dust in haylofts, in pigeon lofts, and meal
chests. The eggs are laid in these places and
when hatched and fully grown the larvae are
smooth, yellow (Tenebrio molitor), or blackish
(T. obscurus), 'worms' about an inch in length.
While commonly looked upon as pests, for feed-
ing birds they are well-nigh indispensable. The
writer has paid twenty-five cents a dozen for them
to feed mocking birds, and the market price
by the wholesale is $1.50 per thousand. If we
know how to use them, the worms in a meal chest
may thus be worth many times the value of the
meal, chest and all.

" Directions in the bird books for raising meal
worms are quite misleading and in order to go
to work intelligently, we must learn the life from
egg to egg. The first fact to learn is that the
insect is single brooded, i. e., it requires an entire
season to complete its growth. The beetles may
be found laying eggs from May until freezing
weather in the fall. The early eggs will produce

1 66 Wild Bird Guests

larvae which are full-grown by September or
October of the same season, and larvae from the
late eggs do not attain their full growth until
about midsummer of the next season. A female
beetle lays from twenty to fifty eggs. While
practically any farinaceous material — corn meal,
ground feed, cracker crumbs, bread crusts — is
suitable, feeding experiments have proved that
wheat, in some form or other, is preferred and
yields the best specimens. "

Professor Hodge suggests that the best way to
rear a supply of meal worms is to take a good-
sized tight box or earthen jar, half fill it with
ground feed, corn meal, oatmeal, ground wheat,
bread crusts — any or all of them — some scraps
of leather, a raw potato or two to supply water,
and last and most important, drop into it a few
hundred larvae or beetles. They should be
covered with cloths — woolen ones are best, but
cotton ones or burlap are almost as good, and
over all there should be a lid of wire screening.
The potatoes should be renewed as they are
eaten ; otherwise the insects should be left alone.
If the original stock is started about April, you
should have a fine lot of meal worms for use by
the fall. After that it will be an easy matter to
keep a supply on hand for feeding after cold
spring storms and in other emergencies.

Hospitality the Year 'Round 167

But it is not only at special times like those
during or following severe weather that birds
are attracted by food ; they need it all the year
round, and they are obliged to go somewhere
to get it. And, just as men who go to business
must live within convenient distance of their
work, so birds must make their homes within
easy reach of their food supply. Consequently,
if we desire to entertain a great many different
kinds of bird guests in spring and summer, our
best plan will be to give them both food and
nesting sites in our own gardens, woods, and
pastures. In no other one way, perhaps, can
this be so well done as by properly planting for
the birds the kinds of trees, shrubs, and creepers
which are attractive because they furnish food,
shelter, and nesting sites. Of the latter I shall
speak at greater length later on, but naturally
many of the trees and shrubs which offer food and
shelter will be used by the birds to build their
nests in. A bit of convincing proof of the value
of "cover" as an attraction for birds is to be seen
at "The Pines," the estate of my friend Frederic
H. Kennard, at Newton Centre, Massachusetts.
Mr. Kennard, in an article published in the
National Geographic Magazine, thus describes it:

"We have had for eight years under close
observation about forty-four acres, comprising

168 Wild Bird Guests

three acres of lawn dotted with a few old apple
trees, six acres of wet meadow, which are allowed
to grow up with tussocks of grass, cedars, alders,
wild roses, and the like, and the remaining
thirty-five acres divided in two areas of about
equal size. The first of these areas, that about
the house, is covered with a growth of pines,
hemlocks, cedars, birches, and various other
deciduous trees, among which we have taken
pains to cultivate suitable coppice and under-
growth, while the second area, covered with
deciduous woods, is, on account of a fire that
ran through it a number of years ago, almost
devoid of the smaller evergreens or protecting
coppice and undergrowth.

"In the first of these areas some thirty different
species of birds breed nearly every year, while
in the second area only from three to five differ-
ent species build their nests."

That the reader might have the very best in-
formation obtainable on this subject, the writer
sought the advice of Mr. Kennard, who kindly
consented to prepare a sub-chapter which follows.

TREES, SHRUBS, AND VINES ATTRACTIVE TO BIRDS

" It is probable that the fruits of nearly all our
trees, shrubs, and vines are eaten sometimes by

Hospitality the Year 'Round 169

some kinds of birds, provided they are hungry
enough. The following is a list of those species
native to the northeastern United States, whose
fruits are known to be eaten by birds. This list,
first published in- Bird*-Lofe, July-August, 1912,
has been revised, fruiting seasons added, and
though still necessarily incomplete, brought as
nearly up to date as possible.

"The fruits of those marked with three asterisks
are known to have been eaten by thirty or more
different species of birds, while those marked
with two asterisks are known to have been eaten
by at least ten species of birds, as indicated by
stomach examinations.1 Those marked with
one asterisk are known, from general observation,
to be very attractive to certain birds, and several
of them might, except for present lack of accurate
data, be given a second asterisk. Some of these
more than make up, in the number of individual
birds they attract, for the fact that they may
not happen to prove attractive to a large number
of species. It is known, for instance, that the
fruits of the sour gum, gooseberries, currants,
and snowberry, are each eaten by at least ten
species of birds, and consequently each are
marked with two asterisks ; but it seems probable

1 "Plants Useful to Attract Birds and Protect Fruit," by W. L.
McAtee from Year Book of Department of Agriculture for 1909.

Wild Bird Guests

that the mountain ash with its persistent fruit
fed upon throughout the winter by flocks of
robins, cedar birds, grosbeaks, purple finches,
and others, may attract a greater number of
individuals than many of those species marked
with two asterisks; while the gray birch with
the winter flocks of goldfinches, redpolls, siskins,
juncos, etc., that feed upon its seeds, probably
attracts a far greater number of birds than some
of those species marked with three asterisks.

A LIST OF TREES, SHRUBS, AND VINES

TIVE TO NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES,
BEARING FRUIT ATTRACTIVE TO BIRDS

DECIDUOUS TREES

*Acer Negundo, ash-leaved maple

" saccharum, sugar maple;
and doubtless other maples,
including A . rubrum, red
maple and A. saccharinum,
silver maple

Alnus incana, smooth alder
" rugosa, speckled alder

*Betula populifolia, American
gray birch

*Betula hitea, yellow birch; and
doubtless other birches, in-
cluding Betula nigra, black
birch

FRUITING SEASON

September-
through winter
September-
October

May-June
September-March
September-March
September-
through winter
October-through

winter
May-June

Hospitality the Year 'Round 171

DECIDUOUS TREES FRUITING SEASON

Gary a sp., several kinds of September-
hickory November

**Celtis occidentalis, hackberry September-
through winter

Cercis canadensis, red-bud September-
January

***Cornus florida, flowering dog- August-December

wood

**Crat&gus Arnoldiana, white August-September

thorn

**Crat(Bgus Crus-galli, cockspur Late August-
thorn March

**Crat(zgus rotundifolia, white September-
thorn November

**Crat(zgus submollis, white thorn ; September

and others of this genus

Diospyros virginiana, Persim- October-

mon November

Fagus americana, American October-
beech November

*Fraxinus americana, American September-
white ash ; and probably other January
species

**Ilex opaca, American holly October-through

winter

*Larix americana, larch October-March

Liquidambar Styraciflua, sweet October-March

gum

Liriodendron Tulipifera, tulip September-
tree November

172

Wild Bird Guests

DECIDUOUS TREES

***Morus rubra, native red mul-
berry

**Nyssa sylvatica, tupelo
Ostrya virginiana, hornbeam
Platanus occidentalis, syca-
more

Populus sp. Various species
of poplars are sometimes fed
upon
***Prunus pennsylvanica, bird

cherry

***Prunus ptimila, sand cherry
*** " serotina, black cherry
*** " virginiana, choke cherry
*Pyrus americana, mountain ash
Quercus sp. Several species of

oaks

Sassafras variifolium, sassafras
Ulmus americana, American
elm; and doubtless other
species

FRUITING SEASON

June-August

August-October
August-October
October-April

May-June

June-October

June-August

July-November

July-August

August-March

September-

Novembei
July-September
May

EVERGREEN TREES

FRUITING SEASON

**Juniperus virginiana, red cedar Throughout the

year

** communis, common Throughout the

juniper year

*Picea canadensis, white spruce September -winter

* " rubra, red spruce; and October-winter
undoubtedly P. nigra

Hospitality the Year 'Round 173

EVERGREEN TREES FRUITING SEASON

*Pinus rigida, pitch pine; and October-March
doubtless P. resinosa, Norway
pine

*Pinus Strobus, white pine September-
October

Thuya occidentalis, arbor vitas September-
October

*Tsuga canadensis, hemlock October-March

SHRUBS FRUITING SEASON

**Amelanchier canadensis, shad June-October

bush ; and other species

**Benzoin cestivale, spice bush August-November

*Berberis vulgaris, barberry (nat- August-May

uralized)

Clethra alnifolia, sweet pepper- September-
bush through winter

Corema Conradii, broom crow- June-July

berry

***Cornus alternifolia, blue cornel July-September

amomum, silky cornel August-October

*** " paniculata, gray cornel August-October

*** " stolonifera, red osier ; and Late June-through
probably other species winter

Corylus americana, American July-September

hazel

Dirca palustris, leatherwood May- June

Elaagnus argentea, silver-berry July-through

winter
Empetrum nigrum, crowberry Throughout year

174 Wild Bird Guests

SHRUBS FRUITING SEASON

Evonymus atropurpureus, burn- August-January

ing bush

**Gaylussacia ca cata, huckleberry July-September
**Gaylussacia frondosa, dangle- June-September

berry

**Ilex glabra, inkberry Throughout year

** " verticillata, black alder July-through

winter
** " lavigata, winterberry August-through

winter

*Ligustrum vulgare, common Late July-through
privet (naturalized) winter

Lonicera canadensis, fly honey- June-August

suckle

Lonicera carulea, hairy fly June—March
honeysuckle ; and doubtless
other species

Myrica asplenifolia, sweet fern September-
October

** carolinensis, bayberry July-May

Nemopanthus mucronata, moun- Jul}r-September

tain holly

Prunus maritime,, beach plum August-October
*Pyrus arbutifolia, chokeberry October-through

winter
* " melanocarpa, dogberry July-through

winter
*Rhamnus cathartica, buckthorn August-April

(naturalized)

***Rhus canadensis, fragrant July-September
sumach

Hospitality the Year 'Round 175

SHRUBS

***Rhus copallina, dwarf sumach
*** " glabra, smooth sumach
*** " Toxicodendron, poison ivy
*** " typhina, staghorn sumach
Vernix, poison sumach

***

**Ribes Cynosbali, prickly goose-
berry

**Ribes floridum, black currant

** " lacustre, swamp black cur-
rant

**Ribes vulgar e, red currant (nat-
uralized) ; and undoubtedly
all other species of currants
and gooseberries

**Rosa humilis, wild rose

**

nitida, wild rose

virginiana, wild rose; it is
probable that the fruits of all
the native wild roses, particu-
larly the smaller fruited
species, are eaten largely by
birds

***Rubus allegheniensis, wild
blackberry

***Rubus canadensis, thornless
blackberry

***Rubus frondosus, high-bush
blackberry

FRUITING SEASON

Throughout year

August-through

winter
June-September

August-September
July-August

June-August

August-through

winter

August-through

winter

August-through

winter

July-September
July-September
July-August

176 Wild Bird Guests

SHRUBS FRUITING SEASON

***Rubus idceus aculeatissimus, July-October

wild red raspberry

***Rubus occidentalis, thimbleberry July-August
*** " triflorus, dwarf raspberry June-September
***Sambucus canadensis, common August-October

elder
***Sambucus racemosa, red-berried June-August

elder
Shepherdia canadensis, shep- June-September

herdia
**Symphoricarpos racemosuSj September-

snowberry through winter

**Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, In- October-April

dian currant
***Vaccinium c&spitosum, dwarf July-September

billberry
***Vaccinium corymbosum, high- June-September

bush blueberry

***Vaccinium pennsylvanicum, low June— September
bush blueberry; and doubtless
other species
** Viburnum acerifolium, dock- August-March

mackie
** Viburnum alnifolium, hobble- August-March

bush
** Viburnum cassinoides, withe- August-January

rod
** Viburnum dentatum, arrow- August-October

wood

** Viburnum Lentago, sheepberry August-March
** " nudum, withe-rod August- January

Hospitality the Year 'Round 177

SHRUBS FRUITING SEASON

** Viburnum Opulus, high-bush July- April

cranberry

** Viburnum prunifolium, black August- January

haw; and doubtless other

species

VINES FRUITING SEASON

Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi, bear- September-
berry through winter

*Celastrus scandens, false bitter- October-through

sweet winter

Chio genes hispidula, creeping July-through

snowberry winter

Menispermum canadense, moon- September-
seed through winter

Milchella repens, partridge- Throughout the

berry year

**Psedera quinquefolia, Virginia September-
creeper February

**Psedera vitacea, Virginia creeper August-February

Rubus Chamcemorus cloudberry June-August

*Smilax rotundifolia, bull briar August-through

winter

Vaccinium macrocarpon, cran- October-through

berry winter

Vaccinium Oxycoccus, dwarf October-through

cranberry winter

** Vitis cestivalis, summer grape Late August-
through winter

12

1 78

Wild Bird Guests

VINES

**Vitis cor dif olia, frost grape

** " labrusca, fox grape
** «

vulpina, frost grape

FRUITING SEASON

August-October
August-October
July-October

"There are a good many introduced species
whose fruits are known to be eaten by our birds,
and the following is a list of some of those that
have proved to be particularly attractive.

INTRODUCED SPECIES

TREES

**Crat(Bgus Oxyacaniha, English

hawthorn

**Crat<zgus Ph&nopyrum, Wash-
ington thorn

*Larix decidua, European larch
***Morus alba, white mulberry
***Prunus pendula, Japanese weep-
ing cherry
***Prunus Sargentii, Sargent's

cherry
*Pyrus Aucuparia, European

mountain ash

*Pyrus baccate, Siberian crab-
apple

*Pyrus floribunda, flowering
crab-apple

FRUITING SEASON

August-through

winter

October-through
winter

October-March

June—August

June-October

June

August-through

winter
September-May

September-May

Hospitality the Year 'Round 179

EVERGREENS FRUITING SEASON

*Picea A bies, Norway spruce October-through

winter

*Pseudotsuga taxifolia, Douglas September-
spruce through winter
*Taxus cuspidata, Japanese yew August-September

SHRUBS FRUITING SEASON

Berberis Thunbergii, Japanese August-May

barberry

*Lonicera Morrowii, bush honey- July-through

suckle winter

*Lonicera tatarica, bush honey- July-through

suckle winter

**Rosa multiflora September-
through winter

VINES FRUITING SEASON

*Celastrus orbiculatus, false October-through
bittersweet winter

*P seder a tricuspidata, Boston September-
ivy through winter

"As the above lists are rather long, and for
those who may contemplate doing any planting,
perhaps difficult to choose from, the writer
suggests the following species as among the best
for providing birds with a continuous supply
of food throughout the year. The deciduous

i8o Wild Bird Guests

species are arranged according to season and the
evergreens in a class by themselves.

" Various considerations have influenced their
choice, beside their comparative attractiveness
as food supply; such as beauty of flower, fruit,
and form ; time and duration of fruiting season ;
supply of nesting sites and cover; their ability
to attract birds away from the cultivated fruits;
and last, but not necessarily least, their attrac-
tiveness to those insectivorous birds that feed
upon the insects that may inhabit them.

SUMMER

TREES

***
***
***

''Morus alba, white mulberry. (Introduced.)

rubra, native red mulberry.
''Prunus pennsylvanica, bird cherry.

SHRUBS

**Amelanchier canadensis, shad bush.
***Cornus alternifolia, blue cornel.
*Lonicera tatarica, Tartarian honeysuckle. (In-
troduced.)
**Sambucus racemosa, red-berried elder.

"Among the trees, the fruit of the white mul-
berry seems to be even more of a favorite than

Hospitality the Year 'Round 181

that of our native species. Of the shrubs, the
early blooming and fruiting shad bush is import-
ant, while the red-berried elder is perhaps the
most popular fruit of all.

AUTUMN

TREES

***Cornus florida, flowering dogwood.
**Crat<zgus Arnoldiana, white thorn.
***Prunus serotina, bird cherry.

SHRUBS

***Cornus Amomum, silky cornel.
paniculata, gray cornel.
***Sambucus Canadensis, common elder.
** Viburnum cassinoides, withe-rod.
dentatum, arrow-wood.

VINES

**Vitis vulpina, frost grape. m

"The flowering dogwood, with its beautiful
spring blossoms and its attractive fruit, fed
upon in the early autumn by a large number of
individuals of numerous species, should be in-
cluded in every garden. Cratcegus Arnoldiana is
one of those recently separated species of white
thorn originally known as C. coccinea, which has

1 82 Wild Bird Guests

proved at the Arnold Arboretum to be one of the
best and most attractive of the earlier ripening
species.

"Of the cornels and viburnums there seems
to be but little choice, they are all good. The
common elder fruits a little later than the red-
berried elder, and like it should be planted in
every garden.

WINTER

TREES

*Betula populifolia, gray birch.
**Crat<zgus Crus-galli, cockspur thorn.

*Pyrus Aucuparia, European mountain ash.
(Introduced.)

*Pyrus baccata, Siberian crab-apple. (Intro-
duced.)

SHRUBS

*Berberis vulgaris, barberry.
**Ilex verticillata, black alder.

*Ligustrum vulgare, common privet.

*Rhamnus cathartic a, buckthorn.
** Viburnum Lentago, sheepberry.
** " prunifolium, black haw.

VINES

**Psedera quinquefolia, Virginia creeper.
**Fitis czstivalis, summer grape.

Hospitality the Year 'Round 183

" Of the trees for winter food supply, the gray
birch is one of the most attractive. In summer
and autumn it is visited by many kinds of birds
in search of the insects that it harbors, and in
winter it seems a particular favorite with all the
smaller finches and sparrows that flock about it.
Of the mountain ashes, the European is the finer
tree, and very attractive to robins, cedar birds,
and the larger finches, and no garden should be
without it. The Siberian crab-apple with its
great quantities of persistent fruit has proved to
be one of the very best.

"Of the shrubs, our common barberry should
always be planted. The black alder with its
persistent red berries, is one of our most beau-
tiful winter shrubs. The common privet, the
fruit of which seems only to be eaten when the
supply of other fruits is exhausted, proves very
acceptable late in the winter; while the buck-
thorn is one of the greatest favorites, and is
another of those shrubs that should be found in
every plantation.

SPRING

TREES

**Cratagus Phcenopyrum, Washington thorn.
(Introduced.)

184 Wild Bird Guests

*Larix americana, American larch.
* " decidua, European larch. (Introduced.)
*Pyrus floribu nda, flowering crab-apple. (In-
troduced.)

SHRUBS

*Berberis Thunbergii, Japanese barberry. (In-
troduced.)
**Rosa sp.

**Rosa multiflora. (Introduced.)
***Rhus sp. (non-poisonous.)
** Viburnum Opulus, high-bush cranberry.

VINES

*Celastrus Orbiculatus, false bittersweet. (In-
troduced.)

*Celastrus scandens, false bittersweet.
*Psedera tricuspidata, Boston ivy.

"The above species are listed as a spring food
supply, not because their fruits ripen in the
spring, but because ripening in the summer or
autumn, they hang on or persist until spring,
unless previously eaten by the birds. The
Washington thorn is one of the handsomest of
our native species, perfectly hardy, though not
indigenous to the northeastern United States,
and is, with its handsome fruit, a great favorite

Hospitality the Year 'Round 185

with several species of birds. Of the larches,
the European is the finer of the two, and both
are favorites with crossbills, pine grosbeaks, and
the smaller finches, and in the early spring are
visited by many warblers and other birds in
search of the insects that are to be found
there.

" The Japanese barberry is included in this list
of shrubs, not because its berries are eaten by
many birds, for quail and partridge are the only
species I know of that eat it habitually; but
because it makes one of the very finest hedge
plants, impenetrable alike to dog or cat, and,
because of its compact method of growth, fur-
nishes a favorite nesting site for many of our
smaller birds.

" The fruits of many of our native wild roses
persist throughout the winter; R. humilis, R.
nitida, and R. virginiana are good, and may be
planted along the walls and roadsides. R. mul-
tiflora grows either as a shrub or vine, and is,
with its beautiful clusters of flowers and fruits,
one of the finest of the introduced species.
The fruits of all the sumachs persist throughout
the year and are fed upon by numerous birds.
Either of the large species, R. glabra or R.
typhina, with its wonderful autumn foliage, is
fine; while of the smaller species, Rhus copal-

1 86 Wild Bird Guests

Una is attractive. The high-bush cranberry is
very attractive to the eye, both in flower and
in fruit; and its conspicuous berries, persisting
throughout the spring when other food is scarce,
are eaten voraciously by numerous species of
birds, and no garden should be without it.

"Of the vines listed above, the introduced false
bittersweet bears its fruit a little more freely
and retains it a little longer than the native
species. All the vines listed for the various
seasons are attractive and should be planted
wherever possible. Boundary walls, old fences,
or ugly out-buildings are appropriate places.

ATTRACTIVE EVERGREENS

**Juniperus virginiana, red cedar.
*Picea Abies, Norway spruce. (Introduced.)
canadensis, white spruce.
nigra, black spruce.
* " rubra, red spruce.
*Pinus strobus, white pine.

resinosa, Norway pine.

*Pseudotsuga taxifolia, Douglas spruce. (In-
troduced.)

*Taxus cuspidata, Japanese yew. (Intro-
duced.)
*Tsuga canadensiSy hemlock.

Hospitality the Year 'Round 187

"Evergreens, although the seeds of the various
species may fall in the autumn, winter, or spring,
are placed in a class by themselves because their
usefulness throughout the entire year can hardly
be overstated. The red cedar, whose fruit per-
sists throughout the year, and is fed upon by
at least twenty-five species of birds, is probably
the most popular tree in the country for nesting
sites, and is the hunting ground for countless
warblers and other insectivorous birds. The
spruces are almost as popular, as are also the
pines and hemlocks, and all of them furnish
protection in winter, as well as shade in summer.
Of our native spruces, P. canadensis and P.
rubra seem only to flourish in the higher altitudes
or in the more northern States and are rather
difficult to grow successfully elsewhere. In
Eastern Massachusetts P. canadensis is perhaps
the better tree, as P. rubra grows but slowly.
P. nigra, which is better adapted for lower al-
titudes, and ordinarily drags out its weary,
straggling existence in our swamps, will some-
times do well if planted in dryer soil.

"For those who do not live in a locality where
our native spruces can be grown successfully,
the old-fashioned Norway spruce, if free from
the spruce louse (Chermes abietis), has always
been a very attractive tree. During the winter

i88 Wild Bird Guests

it is visited by grosbeaks, crossbills, finches of
various sorts, nuthatches, chickadees, etc., and
in the spring it is the favorite hunting ground of
many of our migrants; while in the summer it
offers tempting nesting sites to numerous resi-
dents. The Douglas spruce of the West is
undoubtedly one of the finest of our introduced
species. It seems perfectly hardy in many
places where our native spruces do not flourish,
and should be used in the future much more than
it has been in the past.

"Of the hard pines the Norway is by far the best
tree, and should be planted much oftener than
it is. The white pine and the hemlock are per-
haps the finest of our evergreens and too well
known to need further description. The white
pine is a particularly rapid grower, and both
that and the hemlock flourish throughout prac-
tically the entire region, and should be planted
whenever possible.

"The Japanese yew, although slow of growth,
is one of the hardiest of the introduced species,
and the mature plants, with their striking pink
berries, make a wonderful addition to our gardens
and evergreen plantations.

"The writer also believes in the planting of
rhododendrons, either R. maximum or R. cataw-
biense, and laurel, Kalmia latifolia, when they

Hospitality the Year 'Round 189

can be made to grow. They are perfectly hardy
in many places where they are not supposed to
flourish, and if properly planted, really do not
require the care that many suppose. The
writer does not know that their seeds are eaten
by birds; but when planted in masses, in ap-
propriate places in gardens or about the borders
of woods, they are very beautiful all the year
round, particularly when in bloom; and afford
a cover much resorted to by birds, both winter
and summer.

"On suburban places and in the country, the
use of evergreens, large plantations wherever
possible, is of prime importance as a source of
perpetual food supply, and as a protection from
the elements, as well as on account of the wel-
come nesting sites they offer. From an artistic
standpoint also the use of evergreens is to be
recommended. They warm up the landscape,
and in these days when so many of us live in the
country throughout the year, it behooves us to
make our country places as attractive in winter
as in summer.

" I am indebted to Messrs. William Brewster
and Walter Deane of Cambridge, Massachusetts,
and to Mr. C. E. Faxon of the Arnold Arboretum
of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, for their many
helpful suggestions in making up this list; and

Wild Bird Guests

my thanks are particularly due to Mr. Alfred
Rehder of the Arnold Arboretum, to whose
thorough knowledge and painstaking care I am
indebted for the list of fruiting seasons. I am
also indebted to the United States Department
of Agriculture for information contained in the
Bulletin entitled, How to Attract Birds in North-
eastern United States, by W. L. McAtee."

In addition to the above there is a long list of
herbaceous plants which are attractive to birds,
but a few of the more important ones will suffice.
In the open field of the Bird Sanctuary at Meri-
den, we plant Japanese millet, hemp, wheat, and
sunflowers. Buckwheat is excellent, especially
if there are wild doves in the vicinity. The
hemp, millet, and sunflowers we leave standing,
and the birds take the seed at will during the
fall and winter. The wheat we cut, bind in
sheaves, and tie, ears down, to the trunks of trees
in the woodland, that grouse and other birds may
find plenty of available food just above the snow.

In many of the village gardens are planted
Japanese millet and sunflowers, and Mr. Ken-
nard recommends that nightshade and poke-
berry be planted along the stone walls.

Ruby-throated humming-birds are such uni-
versal favorites that many of us like to do a
little planting especially for them. They are

cJ/

c////vY7/ J

Hospitality the Year 'Round 191

particularly fond of tall larkspur, salvia, col-
umbine, bee-balm, gladiolus, and nasturtium.
Then we often make for them artificial flowers
of bright-colored cloth or paper, hiding in the
heart of each a tiny bottle filled with honey and
water or sugar and water. It is said that they
will take the sweet stuff just as quickly if the
bottle is not surrounded by a flower, but I am
inclined to think that in the first instance, at
least, the color and form of the flower will help
them to find the bottle.

Where there is a possibility of attracting wild
ducks, the planting of wild rice, wild celery,
and pond weeds is recommended. For fuller
information concerning the respective values of
these foods, the best methods of planting them,
and so forth, the reader is referred to Circular
8 1, issued by the United States Department of
Agriculture and entitled, Three Important Wild
Duck Foods, by W. L. McAtee. Further advice
concerning the management of waterfowl and
game birds may be had by application to the
American Game Protective and Propagation
Association, Woolworth Building, New York.

CHAPTER IX

THE BIRD LOVER AS A LANDLORD

I DOUBT if it ever occurs to the average person
that birds are actually in need of nesting sites.
Of course there are thousands of people who
believe that it is a good thing to encourage blue-
birds and tree swallows and wrens by putting up
nesting boxes in the gardens and orchards, but
most of them do it chiefly because it is interesting
and delightful to have the birds about. A few
go as far as to plant shrubbery in the hope that
catbirds and songsparrows and a few others will
make their homes in it. But they rarely do this
because they think the birds need it. As they
look out over the country side and see all the
trees and bushes, it seems as if the birds had
far more nesting sites than they could possibly
use and the fact that so many of these trees and
shrubs are not used by the birds, seems to con-
firm the opinion. The chances are, however, that
many of these apparently good nesting sites are

unused for the very simple reason that they are

192

Bird Lovers as Landlords 193

not what the birds require, and that they would
not even appear to be suitable if we knew a little
more about the real tastes and preferences of
birds. Perhaps no other man has given so much
good thought to this subject as Baron Hans von
Berlepsch, whose estate, "Seebach" near Essen,
Germany, has become world-famous as a para-
dise for birds. As a result of the study he has
given to the likes and dislikes of his feathered
guests in the matter of nesting sites, he has a
thousand birds nesting on the twelve or thirteen
acres immediately surrounding his castle, every
year, and thousands more in the woods beyond.
And it has paid him to study the comfort of his
guests, for they have become a power for good.
When an insect plague swept over that section
of the country some years ago, "Seebach" was
the one green spot left on the face of the land-
scape ; it stood out like an oasis in a desert. And
all because a thousand birds, with perhaps two
thousand hungry babies to feed, showed that
insect destroyers of vegetation can be made to
serve a very useful purpose.

The birds which suffer most perhaps from lack
of nesting sites are those which naturally nest
in holes in trees. We have brought about whole-
sale destruction of our forests, and even in our
gardens, orchards, and farms we have made
13

194

Wild Bird Guests

1

r

T

II

sure to remove the dead trees and stumps, which
are the very ones usually selected by birds which
nest in cavities. In short we have driven these
birds farther and farther away from our homes
and back into the wilderness, and if we wish
them to return to their former haunts, we must
substitute for the dead trees which they formerly
occupied, suitable nest boxes of some kind.

Bird Lovers as Landlords 195

Some birds, like house wrens, tree swallows,
bluebirds, and starlings are so eager for new
nesting sites, and so simple in their requirements,
that they will accept almost any nest box offered
to them — a common starch box, a flower pot,
even an old tomato can with a hole cut in the
end. But there is seldom any need to use such
crude devices as these, since anyone who has
access to a few boards, old or new, a saw, a
hammer, and some nails, can for a few cents
apiece make neat bird homes from such plans
as are given here, or as may be found in Farmers9
Bulletin 609, which may be obtained from the
United States Department of Agriculture, Wash-
ington, D. C.

It is a matter of great importance that young
people especially, be encouraged to make houses
of this kind. It gives them an opportunity to
do active work for the birds; work of which
they will be likely to see the result, and thus be
encouraged to continue. But they should study
the requirements of the birds and not be led into
making houses which are simply odd or pretty.
There is no objection to having a pretty bird-
house if the essential features — the dimensions
of the room, the diameter of the entrance, etc.,
are correct. There is no use in making houses
with more than one room, except for purple

196 Wild Bird Guests

martins, unless, of course, you wish to encourage
starlings or European sparrows. The two-room
houses for bluebirds, wrens, etc., which we see
on the market are never really occupied by two
families at the same time.

Sometimes we see houses made with a good
deal of glass — in the form of windows perhaps ;
I do not remember having seen any house of this
kind occupied by birds. And it is inadvisable
to have more than one entrance to a room
or to have rooms in the same house connected
one with another. The extra doorways tend
to make the house draughty. If in any case
ventilation seems really necessary, holes should
be made above the entrance.

But there are comparatively few of our birds
which take kindly to bird houses made on any
of these lines ; most of the others refuse to occupy
any ordinary hand-made nest box. Von Ber-
lepsch discovered this, and after years of expe-
riment decided that the only way to induce these
more fastidious birds to become his tenants, was
to give them nesting boxes practically like those
which woodpeckers, tits, and others make for
themselves by burrowing into the trunks and
branches of trees. So he invented a machine
which would hollow out a log in such a way that
the cavity was an exact facsimile of a wood-

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tt.-r-sr^-.-.wJ

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197

198 Wild Bird Guests

pecker's burrow or a titmouse's burrow, — not
a straight bore, but flask-shaped with bulging
sides and pointed at the bottom. He made a
number of such boxes, in several different sizes
to accommodate birds both large and small. For
a little while the birds showed no marked prefer-
ence for these boxes, but by and by he found
that he got most interesting results. Birds
which had never come to any of his other nest
boxes came to these, and the birds which had
always come to the other kinds liked the new
ones at least as well. He once put up two
thousand of these nest boxes, and seventeen
hundred were occupied the first year. The fol-
lowing year they were all occupied and he knew
that his experiment was an unqualified success.
The German Government was so much im-
pressed with the result of this and other experi-
ments of the Baron's that it has established other
bird sanctuaries in other parts of Germany.
The Grand Duchy of Hess, not long ago, put up
40,000 of those nest boxes in the forests to pro-
tect the timber. And in many villages and
towns, people who have no special love for birds,
put up these nest boxes, realizing that it pays
to encourage the birds which occupy them.

Some years ago the writer imported from
Germany a hundred and fifty Berlepsch nest

Bird Lovers as Landlords 199

boxes, and they were a great success. Later,
at the request of Mr. William Dutcher, President
of the National Association of Audubon Societies,
he undertook to direct the manufacture of Ber-
lepsch nest boxes in this country, and slightly
modified to meet the special requirements of
American birds, they are now made by the
Audubon Bird House Company in Meriden,
New Hampshire. Among American birds which
the writer knows to have used these boxes, are:
sparrow hawk, screech owl, hairy woodpecker,
downy woodpecker, red-headed woodpecker,
flicker, great-crested flycatcher, starling, tree
swallow, house wren, white-breasted nuthatch,
red-breasted nuthatch, chickadee, bluebird.

Some of these birds, hairy and downy wood-
pecker, and red-breasted nuthatch, for instance,
have never been known to enter any other
kind of nesting box; and others, the sparrow
hawk and red-headed woodpecker, for examples,
have rarely been known to do so. In fact less
than one-half the birds mentioned in the above
list regularly nest in carpenter-made nest boxes
of any kind. Thus it will be seen that in spite
of the fact that Berlepsch nest boxes are only
just beginning to be known in this country,
they already more than hold their own against
all the other kinds put together. It is the

200 Wild Bird Guests

writer's belief that if Berlepsch nest boxes are
made available for American birds they will
eventually be occupied by practically all species
which naturally nest in holes in trees. As von
Berlepsch himself has proved by repeated ex-
periment, when properly made these nest boxes
are the best in the world. But he warns bird
lovers to beware of unscrupulous dealers, who,
ignorant of the real requirements of birds, make
boxes which on the outside only, resemble the
properly-made ones. These fail to attract the
birds, of course, and the result is disappointment
and discouragement to the bird lover.

A very common cause of failure with nest
boxes is lack of knowledge of when, how, and
where to hang them. The following rules are
intended to enable the reader to avoid failure
from this cause. They were written with special
reference to Berlepsch nest boxes, but apply
equally well to any other type of nest box with
which it is hoped to attract American birds.

Time of Year

Nest boxes may be put up at any time of the
year, and the sooner they are put up the better.
Of course, if they are put up so late in the spring
that the birds have already selected other sites

Bird Lovers as Landlords 201

for their nests, one cannot expect great success
that season; but some of the birds which, like
the bluebird, rear two broods, may use the
boxes for the second brood, and in any case the
birds will become accustomed to the presence of
the boxes and will be more likely to make use of
them next year. To obtain the very best re-
sults in the spring, the boxes should be in place
the autumn before. There are several reasons
for this. In the first place, many of the birds
which nest in holes, use holes to sleep in during
the winter, and birds which become used to
sleeping in the nest boxes will be very apt to use
similar boxes as nesting sites in the following
spring. In the second place, if they are hung
before the leaves fall, one can see exactly what
he is doing and avoid hanging the boxes in places
which are too shady, whereas if the work is left
until spring, they may be hung in places which
seem open enough while the trees are bare but
which will have too much shade when the leaves
come out again. Then, if boxes are hung in the
fall, they are sure to be out early enough in the
spring. Otherwise the work is apt to be left
until the birds begin to come back, which is too
late for the very best results. Some birds seem
to select their nesting holes very early, though
they may not begin to build until later.

202 Wild Bird Guests

Condition of Nest Boxes

The statement often repeated, that birds
prefer boxes whose appearance of newness has
disappeared, may be true of the shyer species.
From my own experience I am inclined to think
that if bluebirds and tree swallows have any
preference in this matter, it is for a clean new-
looking box. I have repeatedly seen these birds
enter and examine new boxes within ten min-
utes after they were put up, and then nest in
them afterwards. I very much doubt, however,
whether the age of the house has much to do with
its chances of being occupied by such tenants,
for I have known the same box to be used many
years in succession when newer boxes were within
sight.

General Situation

It should be continually borne in mind that
nest boxes are for the accommodation of birds
that naturally nest in holes in trees. Now, the
trunks or branches in which such holes are
situated, are usually dead or decayed and not, as
a rule, heavily shaded. Therefore, to place a
box in a perpetually shaded place like the heart
of a leafy tree, would be to place it where birds
would be unlikely to use it. As a rule it should

Bird Lovers as Landlords 203

be hung on a well-exposed trunk or branch, and
though a little shade will do no harm and is
even desirable, the box should get plenty of air
and sunlight.

Position

If we examine the nests which birds make for
themselves in the trunks and branches of trees,
we shall find that sometimes these trunks and
branches are perpendicular, and that sometimes
they are leaning. And when they are leaning,
we shall find that the entrance holes leading to
the nests are usually on the under side. We can
readily see good reasons for this. If they were
on the upper side the rain water would run in,
and moreover it would be less convenient for the
birds to go in and out over an overhanging sur-
face. So, as our object is to give the birds a
home as nearly like a natural one as possible, we
must hang our boxes either on upright trunks
or branches, or on the under sides of leaning ones.
They may also be erected on fence posts, and
where the birds have become tame and fearless,
on the sides of houses and barns. Of the occu-
pied nest boxes on the writer's farm within the
last year or two, some were on the house itself,
others on the barn, on gate and fence posts, in

204 Wild Bird Guests

the trees of the garden and orchard, and in the
woodland nearby.-

Preparations for Hanging

If your boxes are of the Berlepsch type, the
first thing to do is to drop into the bottom of
each a small quantity of sawdust and dry earth
mixed together, about half and half. This is
to take the place of the peckings of decayed wood
which woodpeckers always leave in the bottom
of the cavities they make. Such birds do not as
a rule carry in nesting material, and these peck-
ings take the place of it. The quantity of dry
earth and sawdust mixture differs with the size
of the nest box. The following quantities are
recommended by Baron von Berlepsch himself:

For sizes Nos. i and 2, one heaping tablespoonful.
For size No. 3, two heaping tablespoonfuls.
For sizes Nos. 4 and 5, ten heaping tablespoonfuls.

This mixture may be dropped through the
entrance hole; it is not necessary to raise the
lid. Any nest box intended for wood ducks
should be left three-quarters full of dry leaves.
This may be more leaves than necessary but the
ducks will throw out what they do not need.

Bird Lovers as Landlords 205

Other types of nest boxes are rarely occupied
by woodpeckers other than flickers, but a little
sawdust will do no harm in any nest box, and
in case of driving rain may help the drainage.
An inch or two is enough for bluebird or tree
swallow boxes, but the deep boxes intended for
flickers should be half filled, at least. If there
is more than the flickers care for, they will
quickly throw it out.

You are now ready to hang up the nest boxes
and in most instances you will need a ladder for
this. Where a number of boxes are to be put up,
a wheelbarrow will be found a great convenience.
Of course the work will progress much more
rapidly if two persons are engaged — one to
mount the ladder — the other to hand him the
nest boxes and tell him when they hang true.

The Best Places to Hang Nest Boxes

Other things being equal the greatest success
with nest boxes will be had by those who give
heed to the preferences which different kinds of
birds show in selecting sites for their homes. It
would hardly be possible to give rules so com-
plete as to cover all the preferences shown by
birds likely to occupy nest boxes, but the follow-
ing suggestions will be found useful by those who

206 Wild Bird Guests

have not had a wide experience in the field. And
among these suggestions I will give what seem
to be the best heights at which to hang nest
boxes for different birds. I shall try to avoid
extremes for good reasons. For instance, I
have found flickers nesting within three feet of
the ground; that is too low for safety. I have
found them nesting forty or fifty feet above the
ground; that is too high for convenience in
hanging bird boxes. I suggest from eight to
twenty-five feet; eight is usually safe and even
twenty-five feet is usually convenient.

Bluebirds, as we all know, are usually found
nesting in open apple orchards, along fence posts,
and around the houses and farm buildings.
Evidently then the best places to put up nest
boxes for them are on the apple trees, fence posts,
shade trees, arbors, pergolas, houses, and barns,
Anywhere from eight to twelve feet will be
found to be a good height.

Chickadees are fond of the open woods, es-
pecially rather swampy woods, and in such places
usually nest rather close to the ground. I once
found a chickadee's nest, the entrance to which
was only one foot up the side of a poplar stump.
From four to eight feet up would be all right for
open woodland. But chickadees are also fond
of orchards and here they usually nest somewhat

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207

208 Wild Bird Guests

higher. For chickadee boxes to be hung on
apple trees and the sides of quiet buildings, I
would suggest eight to twelve feet.

Red-breasted nuthatches usually nest in the
open woods and seem partial to the borders of
clearings. Nest boxes hung from fifteen to
twenty-five feet above the ground are apt to
suit their ideas as to proper height. A pair
of these birds at Dover, Mass., nested in a
Berlepsch nest box only seven feet from the
ground.

White-breasted nuthatches sometimes like the
open woods but at other times seem to prefer
to nest in orchards or quiet gardens. For these
birds nest boxes hung from eight to fifteen feet
above the ground will be high enough.

The little house wrens will build almost any-
where, but seem to have a preference for quiet
gardens and orchards. Nest boxes intended for
them may be hung on trees, arbors, pergolas,
porches, or the sides of buildings, and need not
be hung more than from eight to twelve feet high.

Tree swallows are very easy to please and
properly made nest boxes hung on the exposed
trunks of shade trees, on tall stumps, on buildings
or arbors, and eight to fifteen feet above the
ground will be sure to please them. Nest
boxes intended for these birds may also be

Bird Lovers as Landlords 209

fastened to special posts and placed around
open fields.

Purple martins seem to prefer to nest in many-
roomed houses rather than in nest boxes which
accommodate only one family. Such houses
should be erected either on special poles, on
telegraph or telephone poles, the trunks of trees,
or on the tops of buildings. Martins like plenty
of open space on at least one side, and they are
especially fond of the banks of rivers whence they
can swing out over the water. From fifteen to
twenty-five feet is plenty high enough for martin
houses, though they are often placed much
higher.

Great-crested flycatchers usually seek their
nesting sites in open woods or orchards.
Anywhere from six to fifteen feet will be found
a good height for the nest boxes.

Flickers are fond of nesting in old orchards
where some of the trees are dead or dying, but
they often nest in trees standing in the open, or
in posts or even buildings at some distance from
human habitation. As I have said, good heights
for their nesting boxes may be found anywhere
from eight to twenty-five feet above the ground.

Red-headed woodpeckers like open woods but
seem to be quite willing to accept hospitality
offered them in quiet gardens and orchards.

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211

212 Wild Bird Guests

From twelve to twenty feet will suit them as to
height.

Pileated woodpeckers, so far as I know, have
never occupied artificial nesting boxes, but
perhaps this is simply because no one has ever
hung properly-made ones in suitable places.
These woodpeckers are birds which usually
prefer old forests, and it is here that nest boxes
intended for them should be placed. Judging
from their natural nesting sites, anywhere from
fifteen to twenty-five feet would be a good height.

Yellow-bellied sapsuckers will nest in open
woodland or in shade trees in gardens or along
country roads and village streets. From fifteen
to twenty feet would be a good height for nest
boxes intended for their use. As sapsuckers
are known to be destroyers of certain kinds of
trees, especially of birches, which they girdle
with holes in order to get the sap, some people
may not wish to encourage them. But they
should not be confused with other woodpeckers,
most of which are very useful birds.

Saw whet or Acadian owls are often found
nesting in old woodpeckers' holes or deserted
squirrels' nests. Nest boxes intended for them
may be hung in woodland or on the sides of
isolated buildings, and anywhere from ten to
twenty feet would be a good height.

Bird Lovers as Landlords 213

Sparrow hawks are usually birds of the open
country and often nest in isolated trees. Nest
boxes hung on such trees within the birds' breed-
ing range, and from fifteen to twenty-five feet
above the ground are apt to be occupied. Care
should be taken that these beautiful and useful
little hawks are not mistaken for sharp-shinned
hawks, and killed.

Wood ducks and mallards both take kindly
to artificial nesting sites, and golden eyes and
American mergansers probably will do so eventu-
ally. Nesting boxes for wood ducks should be
placed on trees within two or three hundred feet
of some pond or stream, or if the ducks are tame,
the boxes may be fastened a foot or so above the
surface of the water upon posts driven into the
mud at the bottom. In this case it is well to
have a sort of gang-plank, made of a board with
cleats nailed across it, leading from the entrance
hole to a little float resting on the water. The
ducks will climb out on the float and by means
of the gang-plank reach the entrance to the nest
box.

Three-toed woodpeckers usually inhabit living
evergreen forests and nest boxes intended to at-
tract them, may be placed from ten to twenty-
five feet from the ground. These birds have not
yet been known to use artificial nesting sites.

214 Wild Bird Guests

Downy woodpeckers are birds chiefly of the
woods and orchards and should be attracted by
suitable nest boxes hung from ten to twenty feet
high. They have been known to occupy Ber-
lepsch nest boxes only.

Hairy woodpeckers are fond of quiet wood-
land, especially swampy woodland or woodland
near a stream ; sometimes they nest quite close
to houses. Nest boxes hung from fifteen to
twenty-five feet above the ground will be at
the proper height for them. They have been
known to enter Berlepsch nest boxes only.

Screech owls seem to have little fear of man,
and frequently nest in the orchards or in shade
trees near the house or on the village streets.
They will often occupy nest boxes hung on trees
or the sides of barns from eight to twenty-five
feet up.

While not essential in all cases, it is best to
examine all nest boxes in the fall, and clean out
those which have been occupied either by birds
or by squirrels, mice, hornets, or moths. Some
birds will go to the trouble of cleaning out a nest
box, but many will refuse to use it unless it has
been cleaned for them. Last spring a pair of
bluebirds in Meriden, New Hampshire, refused
to build in a nest box which they had used for
years. Finally the owner of the box examined

Bird Lovers as Landlords 215

it and found, in addition to the old nest, an
addled egg left from the year before, which
he decided was the cause of the trouble. He
cleaned out the box and the bluebirds began
building at once. On the other hand another
pair of bluebirds in the same village built their
nest in a Berlepsch box over the nest and eggs of
a pair of tree swallows who, it would seem, had
a better right to it. Ernest Thompson Seton
adds the remark: "As a practical detail I have
found it worth while to have each nest with a
hinge door which would admit of easy inspection
without disturbing the inside arrangements."
The author's experience coincides with this, and
all nest boxes made under his direction are fitted
with hinged lids and simple fastenings to facili-
tate inspection, and cleaning when necessary.

Shelves for Phcebes and Robins

The author has had success in attracting
phcebes to the house by putting up shelves for
them under the piazza about four to six inches
from the roof. At his own home a little shelf
made of a bit of board four inches square, sup-
ported by a brace, has been occupied by a pair
of phcebes for three successive years, two broods
being reared each year.

216 Wild Bird Guests

Robins prefer a somewhat wider shelf, perhaps
six inches, fastened a little farther away from the
roof, to allow for the larger size of the birds
when they stand on the rim of the nest to feed
their young. Some people object to having birds
nest in this way because they soil the piazza,
but it requires so very little work to keep every-
thing neat and clean, that it is hard to see how
anyone can forego the delight of observing the
home life of their little guests, to say nothing of
the advantage of having countless troublesome
insects destroyed. The pair of phoebes on our
piazza, with two pairs of tree swallows which nest
in boxes in the garden, and a pair of barn swal-
lows in the barn, keep our house practically free
from flies and mosquitoes all summer long.

A large proportion of the birds which will nest
neither in nest boxes nor upon shelves are pro-
vided for in Mr. Kennard's splendid list of trees
and shrubs and creepers given in Chapter VIII.

Baron Hans von Berlepsch goes a step farther
and plants what he calls shelter woods, the trees
and shrubs in which are systematically pruned
in such a way that the new shoots form whorls
and crotches of the kinds most attractive to
birds which make their nests in such places.
But this is an art in itself, and those who would
learn it I must refer to Martin Hieseman's

Bird Lovers as Landlords 217

How to Attract and Protect Wild Birds, an im-
ported book for sale by the National Association
of Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New
York City.

Nesting Material

It seems reasonable to suppose that birds are
influenced more or less in their choice of nesting
sites by the amount of suitable nesting material
to be found comparatively close at hand. If
barn swallows are to nest on a particular barn,
there must be a supply of suitable mud within
easy distance, or if a Baltimore oriole has selected
a certain pendant branch on which to hang his
nest, it is safe to assume that within a rather
short radius may be found enough strings of
some kind to make an oriole's nest. And the
fact that birds so often avail themselves of the
strings, rags, scraps of paper, and other materials
accidentally dropped near our homes, suggests
the possibility that if a generous supply of such
nesting material were made available during the
nesting season, more birds would be likely to
nest on the premises. A great variety of nesting
material is used by our common birds, and there
is no telling to what extent this would be added
to if new materials were available. Since the
coming of the white man they have added string

218 Wild Bird Guests

of many kinds, woolen yarn, silk thread, horse
hair, sheep's wool, feathers of domestic poultry,
rags, cotton batting, wood shavings, paper, and
probably other things. Any or all of these might
be offered with a fair chance of their being used.
Small dry twigs, and hay in convenient lengths,
would doubtless be accepted by certain birds,
and by a study of the nests in any locality,
probably other materials could be added to the
list.

A puddle with plenty of soft wet clay or sticky
mud of some kind, or a tray of this material, in
an exposed situation, would be likely to be visited
by barn swallows and cliff swallows.

One objection to offering the birds such mate-
rials as rags, cotton batting, paper, and shavings,
is that they are blown about by the wind and
make a garden look untidy. Perhaps this objec-
tion might be overcome by putting the materials
in net bags with a wide mesh or in shallow
baskets or boxes with covers of netting and
painted so that they are inconspicuous when
placed on trees or in shrubbery.

CHAPTER X

BIRD BATHS AND DRINKING POOLS

IN hot weather, especially in time of drought,
there is nothing more attractive to birds than
water. They need it to drink and to bathe in,
and when the natural pools and streams are
dried up, they will come from far and near to
visit a properly constructed bird bath. At the
very time this chapter is being written the
weather is very hot and dry and birds are coming
to the artificial baths in the village, not one at
a time, but by scores. Only this morning they
gathered at a little cement bath just outside my
study window, and gave it the appearance of an
avian Manhattan Beach. I saw two bluebirds,
a chewink, a white-throated sparrow, a song
sparrow, a junco, a chipping sparrow, and a
myrtle warbler, all bathing at once, and at least
a score of other birds were hopping about in the
grass or perched in the bushes nearby, awaiting

their turn. There were similar scenes at nearly

219

220 Wild Bird Guests

all the bird baths in Meriden. One example will
suffice. In the Bird Sanctuary there is a bath
made from a granite boulder, or rather half a
boulder, for it was split in two, ages ago, proba-
bly by the frost. It had broken in such a way
that one-half had a gently sloping concave sur-
face and we took this half, and turned the
concave surface uppermost that when filled with
water it might form a natural pool for the birds.
As I approached this bath one evening after
sundown, I saw the whole surface of the water
dancing as though a shoal of little fish were
sporting in it, and spray was flying in every
direction. It was simply a flock of birds taking
their evening bath. Perhaps because night was
coming on they were too impatient to wait their
turn, for all seemed to be trying to get in at
once, and most of them were successful. Juncos
seemed to be most numerous, but there were
several bluebirds and myrtle warblers and some
sparrows which in their wet plumage and in the
uncertain light I could not identify. A little
apart a phoebe sat on a twig above the pool,
watching for chances to dip down into the water
for an instant, after which she would return to
the twig to preen her feathers.

Birds come to our bird baths every day in
summer and fall in an almost continuous pro-

Bird Baths

221

cession, but usually just a few are present at the
same moment. They come in large flocks only
at exceptional times, usually following severe
drought.

Bird baths may be as simple or as elaborate as
one likes. A rough earthenware saucer from six
inches to twelve inches in diameter and with half
an inch of fresh water in it, is a great deal better
than nothing and may attract some of the most

-a..

1

SSEEr^TifT'

222 Wild Bird Guests

delightful birds. I have seen robins, catbirds,
Baltimore orioles, rose-breasted grosbeaks, and
many others bathe in an earthenware saucer.
But the supplying of water is so very important
that most of us will wish to do rather more than
put out a saucer. Even from a selfish standpoint
it is well to give birds all the water they want.
If we do, they will be much less likely to destroy
our small fruits, which they sometimes eat
chiefly for the fluid they contain.

In making any bird bath the first thing to
look out for is the depth of the water. Few of
the birds which will come to bathe will use water
of greater depth than two and a half inches, and
even for grackles and blue jays five inches is
about the limit. But most birds refuse to jump
off into any such depth ; if we had a pool with a
uniform depth of even two and a half inches,
birds would come and drink but few if any would
bathe. So we must arrange for shallow places
where the birds can enter the water; they will
go in deeper presently, but they are very cautious.
Half an inch is a good depth for the shallows and
if the depth grades off to nothing at all, so much
the better. A bath which the writer invented
some time ago and which has proved very
popular with the birds, is made on the principle
of a flight of broad steps, each one of which is two

Bird Baths 223

feet long and seven inches wide. There are five
of these steps, each one-half inch lower than the
last. So that when the water is half an inch
deep on the top step, it is two and a half inches
deep on the bottom one. The birds invariably
enter the water at the top step. Their favorite
steps are the second and third; they seldom go
lower than that. The bottom is covered with
clean sand and bright pebbles from a trout brook,
and here and there among them are strewn
beautifully-tinted shells.

Close beside it is a wooden tray of earth, on
which are scattered every morning, bird-seed
of several kinds, bits of bread, a little suet, ripe
raspberries, and a piece of banana perhaps, as
additional attractions for the feathered guests.
Among the smaller visitors are the chipping
sparrows, gentle, modest little fellows, who come
to the food tray quietly as mice, crack a few
seeds, and then take a bath on the top step where
the water is shallow. Almost burly, in compari-
son, are the purple finches, which come, often two
or three at a time, make a full meal in the food
tray, and then souse themselves thoroughly in
the deeper water, regardless of theories concern-
ing the dangers of bathing too soon after dinner.

Perhaps the most amusing visitor is a catbird,
who has a nest in the lilac bushes, from the top

224 Wild Bird Guests

of which, in the early morning, he sings his
wonderful song which so surprises those who
know him by his cat-call only. He comes boldly
to the food tray, hops lightly about, jauntily
flirting his long tail, swallows a ripe raspberry,
takes a bite or two of banana, and then pro-
ceeds to inspect the bath as if he had never seen
it before. He cocks his head first on one side and
then on the other, hops into the shallow water,
and begins to peck at the shells and pebbles at
the bottom. Perhaps he will take one in his bill,
and hold it for a moment before dropping it back.
Then he goes out into deeper water, and with
wings vibrating as though operated by an elec-
tric current, takes a thorough bath "all over."
When he comes out, he is a sorry-looking object,
dripping wet and with tail-feathers stuck to-
gether. But apparently he cares nothing for
appearances, and proceeds with his toilet forth-
with. He shakes himself vigorously, flips his
tail from side to side to get rid of the bulk of the
water, and then it is surprising how soon, with
the aid of his deft bill and a warm sun, he makes
himself into a clean fluffy catbird again.

Sometimes, toward evening, a bluebird visits
the bath, and, after washing himself in a very
business-like way, flies off to a dead tree to
preen and dry his feathers.

Bird Baths 225

Occasionally a phcebe comes, but apparently
takes a bath more from a sense of duty than from
any love of bathing. He seems to dislike cold
water about as much as does the average small
boy, for instead of getting right into it as most
birds do, he flits through it, barely getting his
feet wet. Perhaps this habit has been acquired
by repeatedly darting after insects, and possibly
is common to all flycatchers; at any rate I
have seen a kingbird bathe by dashing through
the water of a stream time and again, re-
turning after each dip to a snag, from which
he made a fresh] dive after stopping: a moment
to preen his feathers, and perhaps to catch his
breath.

But the song sparrows are perhaps the most
numerous visitors to this bird bath; they come
earlier and stay later than any of the other birds.
They act as if they owned this particular sheet
of water, three feet by two, and if any other bird
ventures too near while a song sparrow is bath-
ing the former is promptly driven away. These
sparrows seem to fairly love the water, and not
only splash in it, but squat right down in it
until practically nothing but their heads are
sticking out. Sometimes when it is almost dark,
and the last red tinge of afterglow is reflected
in the tiny pool, a couple of dark spots on the

15

226 Wild Bird Guests

shining surface tell just where two little song
sparrows are cooling off for the night.

We have been altogether too busy to keep
close watch on this bath but at different times
we have observed the following birds using it:
Flicker, phoebe, Baltimore oriole, purple finch,
white-winged crossbill, American goldfinch, ves-
per sparrow, white-throated sparrow, chipping
sparrow, junco, song sparrow, chewink, cedar
waxwing, black-and-white warbler, Nashville
warbler, myrtle warbler, chestnut-sided warbler,
catbird, brown thrasher, hermit thrush, robin,
and bluebird. Probably there have been many
more which we have not observed. The arrange-
ment of steps, while interesting, is by no means
necessary, and a bath of the same size, say three
feet long, two feet wide, and three inches deep,
with a continuously sloping and roughened
bottom, starting at one end half an inch from
the top and ending at the other end at its lowest
point, would probably answer the purpose just
as well. And speaking of the roughened bottom,
reminds me that almost if not quite as important
as the depth of water in a bird bath, is the char-
acter of the footing on the bottom. This should
never be slippery, for birds lose confidence when
they find they cannot keep their feet. A layer
of course sand or fine pebbles will usually give

Bird Baths 227

the desired "footing" in a bird bath, and a slip-
pery pan or dish can be rendered safe by placing
in it a freshly-cut sod, having about half an inch
of the grass submerged. This makes a wet spot
such as many of the small birds are very fond
of.

Concrete is very useful for the construction
of pools for the comfort of birds ; it may be used
alone as in the case of a bird bath in my own
garden, or in connection with natural rock crop-
ping out above the earth, as seen in the photo-
graph of Mr. Kennard's little pool, opposite.
The former was made as follows: I scooped out
in the lawn an elliptical hollow, four feet by
three feet six inches, the sides sloping down in all
directions toward the centre where the depth was
four or five inches. I now took some Portland
cement and some course sand and mixed in the
proportion of one of cement to four of sand,
adding just enough water to give it the consist-
ency of common mortar. Then, with my hand,
I plastered it all over the surface of the hollow,
putting in enough to make the depth at the
center about two and a half inches. I was care-
ful not to make the sides too smooth, though the
concrete itself gives an excellent foothold for the
birds. We have no running water in this ; about
once a week we sweep the water out with a stiff

228 Wild Bird Guests

broom and put two pails of fresh water into it.
It has been a complete success, and being within
ten feet of the house we have had great pleasure
in watching the birds from the windows and
from the piazzas. We have seen six bluebirds —
the parents and four young — bathing in it at
once, and at other times there have been whole
flocks of song sparrows, white-throated sparrows,
and juncos, in addition to the many birds that
come in smaller numbers. With a few shrubs
and hardy flowers planted about it, such a bath
can be made a beautiful little feature in any
garden. And, of course, there is no reason in the
world why it should not be made much larger
if one has plenty of room and the time to make
it.

Dr. Ernest L. Huse, President of the Meriden
Bird Club, has a somewhat similar bath in his
garden, but he has carried the idea a little farther.
In the center he has sunk a tub, and from the rim
which is perhaps two and a half inches below
the surface of the ground, the concrete slants
outward and upward in all directions, making
shallows in which the birds will drink and bathe.
In the tub pond lillies are planted, and spread
their leaves and blossoms over the surface.
Round about shrubs and tall grasses are planted
and here and there among them one catches a

Bird Baths 229

glimpse of a little food tray, filled with hemp
and millet which tends to keep the birds about
the spot even when the bath is over.

There is hardly a limit to what may be done
with concrete in this way, especially if it is used
in connection with beautiful stones, pebbles, sand,
and shells. Small pools may be swept out often
enough to prevent mosquitoes from breeding;
in the larger ones a few small fish will quickly
devour the larvae of these insects.

Of course, in the case of bird baths which are
not raised well above the ground, great care
must be taken that the little bathers are not
pounced upon by cats, which would otherwise
have the little songsters at an unusual disadvant-
age. The birds become so engrossed with the
joy of the bath that they are less wary than
usual, and their feathers being wet they fly
slowly and heavily, often close to the ground.
If we cannot be sure about cats, we must either
have our bath raised well above the ground on
some object which a cat cannot climb, or else
we must be content with a bath out in the open,
without shrubs or grass about it, for behind such
things a cat will crouch.

I have spoken of a bird bath made of a granite
boulder; we have two of this kind in Meriden,
New Hampshire, and they are among the most

230 Wild Bird Guests

satisfactory baths we have. One has the natural
hollow which I have described.

It is set upon a well-made stone foundation,
a hole has been drilled down through to admit a
lead pipe which supplies running water, and a
little bronze tablet bolted to the granite shows
that the bath is placed there in memory of Dr.
Edward Everett Hale, and gives the name of Miss
Harriet E. Freeman of Boston who presented
it to the Bird Club. I often think how much
more appropriate as a memorial to a real man
or woman, is a beautiful thing like this, made
by Nature, carved by her mighty forces, and
dedicated to the use and enjoyment of the
loveliest of her children, than a shining, ugly, and
utterly useless polished shaft, whose sole recom-
mendation is that it costs from a hundred to a
thousand times as much. In the case of the
other boulder bird bath, which is on the campus
of the local academy, a hollow was chiseled out
by a mason at small expense.

When we decide to have such a bath our plan
is to appoint a committee, each member of which
has a good general idea of the kind of boulder
required. When any member goes for a walk,
he keeps his eyes open for likely boulders and
when he finds one which he thinks will do, he
takes the other members to see it. If it is

Bird Baths 231

satisfactory as to size and form, the next step
is to approach the owner of the land on which
it lies, and secure his permission to remove it.
He is usually glad to have it removed, and if
he is the owner of oxen or heavy work horses
he appreciates the contract to haul it at his
convenience.

The lovely bronze fountain executed by Mrs.
Louis Saint-Gaudens, and pictured here, is
another of the charming features of the Bird
Sanctuary at Meriden, and makes one realize
that with the sculptor as an assistant there is no
end to the artistic bird baths which may be
designed. This particular bath was made in
commemoration of the first presentation of
Percy Mackaye's bird masque, Sanctuary, and
was presented to the Meriden Bird Club by Helen
Foster Barnett of New York who witnessed the
play. It will be seen by the shallowness of
the basin at the top that my remarks about the
depth of the water apply just as much to a
formal work of art as to a granite boulder or an
earthenware saucer. The rule about surface also
applies, and the sculptoress purposely left the
surface of the inside of the basin slightly rough
that the feet of the little bathers might not slip,
Below the shallow bowl and in bas-relief may be
seen in procession the principal characters who

232 Wild Bird Guests

took part in the masque. Below these are in-
teresting inscriptions, some of them historical,
others consisting of quotations from the masque
itself. Of these the one that sends the reader
away filled with determination to do something
for the cause of bird conservation is the com-
pact sworn to by the poet, the converted plume-
hunter, and the naturalist:

" A compact, then, we three, that when we go
Forth from these gracious trees
Into the world, we go as witnesses
Before the men who make our country's laws,
And by our witness show
In burning words

The meaning of these sylvan mysteries:
Freedom and sanctuary for the birds! "

CHAPTER XI

SOME OF THE PROBLEMS WHICH CONFRONT
BEGINNERS

THE writer does not begin this chapter without
realizing the magnitude of the task which would
confront anyone who undertook to give in detail
remedies for all the ills which birds are heir to.
Even were he able to cope with such a task, it
would be impossible in a book of anything like
this size, to do so. But he knows from the let-
ters of inquiry which he receives, that there are
many people who seek just a few opinions-
just a few suggestions from someone who has had
even a little more experience than they have
had, and whom they feel will be working along
with them for the welfare of their mutual friends
— the birds. It is principally for these and
such as these that this chapter is written.

Storms

There seems to be little we can do to prevent
birds from being killed as a direct result of storms.

233

234 Wild Bird Guests

We have already spoken of the planting of ever-
greens as shelter, and such local protection is
valuable as far as it goes. We have also spoken
of the feeding of birds in winter and after late
spring storms.

Floods caused by heavy rains and which result
in the destruction of nests upon the ground within
the flooded area, might, it would seem, be pre-
vented in many cases by a simple drain which
would carry off the surplus water.

Waterfalls

Speaking of the swans which went over
Niagara Falls in 1908, Mr. James Savage, in a
report to the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences,
concludes: "While the killing of the wounded
swans at the ice bridge ... in a certain light
might be regarded as an act of mercy inasmuch
as without human interference most of the birds
would probably have perished from their injuries
or by starvation, yet it is greatly to be regretted
that as many of the birds as possible were not
taken alive and given an opportunity to recover.
I believe that fully one-third of the 116 swans
taken would have survived if given the proper
care. But the impulse to kill was stronger than
the spirit to save, and not even a pair of these

Problems Confronting Beginners 235

unfortunate birds was rescued from nature's
doom and restored to nature's freedom."

The injured swan seen in our illustration was
secured by Mr. Savage half an hour after it was
picked up at Bass Rock eddy. It could not
stand or use its wings, but nevertheless he took
it to Buffalo and placed it under the care of the
curator of the Zoo in Delaware Park. It quickly
recovered and was soon floating gracefully on the
waters of Park Lake.

The writer believes that the importance of
saving as many as possible of the swans which
are wounded by coming over Niagara is out
of all proportion to the number of bird lives
actually involved. The size and majesty of
these kings of the waterfowl, together with the
dramatic nature of the disaster which has over-
taken them, insures a wide publicity, which may
be made either to help or injure the cause of
bird protection. Here are glorious, world-fa-
mous birds which are braving the dangers of a
long journey to their Arctic home, and which
have even survived a battle with one of the
mightiest cataracts on earth. To permit these
voyagers, while they are bruised and battered
and still struggling bravely but hopelessly with
the savage waters of the gorge, to be dragged out
upon the ice and choked or bludgeoned to death

236 Wild Bird Guests

is highly demoralizing — as much to those who
permit the barbarous practice as to the young
men who murder the helpless birds for money.
Would it not be a noble work for the Boy Scouts,
with permission from the authorities, of course,
to organize a "first-aid" corps to save the swans
wounded by going over Niagara Falls? The
Scouts could arrange to patrol the river bank
at certain points during the brief period in March
when the swans usually come over, take the
birds from the water, and convey them to some
suitable place where they would have every
chance to recover, and later to continue their
journey northward. Dead birds, instead of
being plucked and eaten, might be sent to mu-
seums and to scientific collectors in the United
States and Canada to become of permanent value
as skins or mounted specimens. Such a corps
would set a splendid example, and, its work
would become widely known.

Disease

Individual scientists here and there, though
usually hampered by lack of sufficient funds,
are doing splendid work in their investigation
of the causes of disease in birds and in their
search for methods of prevention and cure.

Problems Confronting Beginners 237

But a great epidemic like the one which has
recently caused such havoc among the waterfowl
of Utah, usually requires prompt and vigorous
action by the Government. At the outbreak
of any epidemic of disease among birds, the
person discovering it should at once notify the
Bureau of Animal Industry at Washington,
District of Columbia, and await instructions
from that Bureau. If, on investigation by the
Bureau, the epidemic threatens to be serious,
Congress will probably be asked to appropriate
a fund with which to carry on the work of
stamping out the disease.

Natural Enemies

On very large preserves devoted to the protec-
tion of birds and other wild life, a few natural
enemies may be an advantage. Most of them
eat a variety of food, and the birds which they
get will often be the weaklings — those which are
not quite healthy, or which in one way or an-
other fail to come up to the standard. But on
a small place, especially one which it is designed
to make particularly attractive to birds, I should
say the fewer enemies there are the better. On
such a place, a fox, a pair of red squirrels,
a house cat, or a sharp-shinned hawk, will be

238 Wild Bird Guests

likely to prevent a normal increase of the bird
population.

Yet, to many of us the very hardest task
we have to perform for our friends, the birds, is
the killing of their enemies. It is always a sad
thing to fire a gun at a sharp-shinned or Cooper's
hawk, which but a moment before perhaps has
been sailing far above the earth, a beautiful
creature doing nothing more wicked than look-
ing for his dinner, and bring him crashing down
to his death. Neither does one enjoy killing a
red squirrel, every line of whose muscular little
body is beautiful, every motion graceful, and
whose only sin is the eating of a few fresh birds'
eggs for breakfast. If we are thoughtful, we
shall probably ask ourselves some questions, such
as, "Are sharp-shinned hawks, squirrels, cats,
skunks, and other bird enemies to blame for
what they do, when they simply act as nature
intended that they should?"

But if we are reasonable and honest, we must
try to answer such questions truthfully. Of
course these animals are no more to blame for
what they do than wolves are to blame for killing
sheep, foxes for killing hens, or tigers for killing
men. But we should hardly blame a shepherd
for shooting a wolf if it threatened his sheepfold ;
we should think a farmer rather stupid if he

Problems Confronting Beginners 239

permitted foxes to destroy his hens year after
year without making an attempt to stop them;
and if a man were killed by a tiger which he had
refused to have killed, I'm afraid that some of us
would be rude enough to say, " Served him right. "

Man's status upon this earth is based on the
assumption that he has the right to regulate
in so far as he is able, the status of every other
animal with which he has relations. Unless we
deny the right of this assumption and permit
ourselves to be dominated by the wild animals,
we must, to be consistent, protect the useful
birds from their, to us, less useful enemies.

On large tracts devoted to the preservation of
birds, one way to get rid of their natural enemies
is to employ one or more men, part of whose duty
it should be to shoot and trap. Another way
is to give some local trapper the privilege of
clearing the place of vermin. Where traps are
used it should be stipulated that they be visited
frequently. Such work should not be intrusted
to boys or to any but reliable men.

On a small place one man with a gun, can,
without devoting much time to the work, do
a great deal toward keeping it free from bird
enemies. For example, I know one New Hamp-
shire man, who with a twenty-two calibre rifle,
has for years kept his home farm of a hundred

240 Wild Bird Guests

acres, clear of red squirrels, house cats, and
European sparrows ; reduced the chipmunk pop-
ulation as much as seemed necessary, and who
has shot several sharp-shinned and Cooper's
hawks and two northern shrikes. The same
man has shot practically all the red squirrels
in the nearby village of Meriden, and with the
help of one other man has cleared the village
of European sparrows. Most of the latter were
shot, but a few were caught in a sparrow trap.
Both of these men lead very busy lives — one is a
doctor, the other a writer — but by carrying their
guns occasionally while going about their work,
they have been able to free the local birds of
nearly all their natural foes.

It has been the experience of men who have
made determined effort to rid a given place of
such bird enemies, that the task becomes in-
creasingly easy. In Meriden, for example, about
two hundred red squirrels were shot the first year,
perhaps fifty the second, and now the shooting
of half a dozen squirrels a year is all that is
necessary, in spite of the fact that the village is
full of trees and is surrounded by woodland.

European Sparrows

It was the same with the sparrow problem.
At first Meriden was like any other sparrow-

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Problems Confronting Beginners 241

infested village. The pests were everywhere,
and nest boxes put up for native birds were at
once appropriated by the intruders. A couple
of guns began to speak, and spoke at intervals
for perhaps three or four weeks. After that
they spoke less and less frequently until at
length they were silent. What European sparrows
had not been shot had sought a milder climate.
But there is a townful of them seven miles to the
north and a villageful of them four miles to the
south, and about once a year a flock of twenty
or thirty drift into Meriden. At once guns are
fired in honor of their arrival, and those which
are able to leave generally do so without even
stopping to say good-bye. Occasionally a few
will stay about the village for a day or two but it
is no use, they are simply not allowed to get a
foothold.

And while I am on this subject let me say that
the work of exterminating the European sparrow
is not for children. It is hard work — unpleasant
work — and should be done by real men who know
the bird from all others and who are prepared to
camp on its trail until there isn't a specimen left
in the locality. Any other course is generally a
waste of time ; it may give temporary relief, but
the work has to be done all over again and any
cruelty which may be involved must be repeated

16

242 Wild Bird Guests

at the next trial. Clear the town thoroughly
just once, and thereafter it will be comparatively
easy to keep it cleared. Don't attempt to get
rid of sparrows by tearing down the nests — an
infant should realize the futility of this method.
The birds will have another nest built before
you're up next morning, and will play the game
with you about once a day during the rest of
their long nesting season. Kill the birds and
your work is done once and for all. Dead
sparrows make no nests.

The principal methods employed to destroy
European sparrows, are trapping, shooting, and
poisoning. Of these, trapping is the safest,
and poisoning the most effective when large
numbers of birds are to be disposed of. In
Farmers9 Bulletin 493, United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture, written by Mr. Ned Dear-
born, and entitled, "The English Sparrow as a
Pest, " there are some excellent suggestions for
trapping, and detailed plans for making sparrow
traps. And there are some fairly good traps on
the market. In most of these traps the birds
are caught uninjured and must be disposed of
afterwards. This makes it possible to liberate
any other birds which may be caught unin-
tentionally. Almost any kind of small grain —
wheat, oats, cracked corn, or birdseed will do to

Problems Confronting Beginners 243

bait a sparrow trap, and it should be kept baited
all the time.

The following directions for poisoning sparrows
are given by Professor Clifton F. Hodge, based
on the results of his own careful and successful
experiments, and are the best I know of:

" Dissolve one-eighth of an ounce of powdered
strychnine sulphate in one half pint of boiling
water. Pour this, while hot, over two quarts of
wheat (or cracked corn), stir well, and continue
stirring from time to time, until all the liquid is
absorbed. Dry thoroughly, without scorching,
and put away in some safe receptacle, labelled:
* Poisoned Grain. Strychnine/

" It requires but one kernel to kill a sparrow.
A quart of wheat contains about twenty- three
thousand kernels, and as a sparrow seldom takes
more than two or three, you have enough to rid
the neighborhood of about twenty thousand
sparrows. Expose the grain where poultry
and tame pigeons cannot get it, and by oper-
ating only during the winter there will be no
danger of poisoning seed-eating wild birds, at
least for all northern towns and cities. By
taking advantage of the sparrows' gregarious
habits, and the fact that they drive off other
birds from localities where they are numerous,
much might be done even in the south.

244 Wild Bird Guests

"Sparrows are such suspicious and cunning
birds, that, if the strychnine grain be exposed at
first, they will probably roll each kernel in their
bills, taste it, reject it, and possibly refuse to
touch it again that winter. The best way is to
select a safe place, where the wind is not likely
to scatter it — a walk, driveway, or porch roof with
a smooth surface so that the grain may be swept
up after each trial. Accustom them to feeding
there daily with grain exactly like that which is
medicated (I often do this for a week or even a
month, until all the sparrows in the neighborhood
are wont to come regularly), study the times
when they come for their meals, and then on a
cold, dry morning after a heavy snowstorm,
having swept up all the good grain the night
before, wait until they have gathered and then
put down enough strychnized grain to feed the
entire flock. You have about ten minutes before
any begin to drop, and those that have not par-
taken of the grain by this time will probably be
frightened off; but by timing it properly I have
repeatedly caught every sparrow in the flock.
I have found the morning the best time as they
all come then; and it is essential to success to
select a dry day, since in wet weather they taste
the strychnine too quickly; I have seen them
actually throw it out of the crop.

Problems Confronting Beginners 245

"With this simple method at command, by
concerted action a few friends of our native birds
can rid any northern city of the sparrow pest in
a single winter. This is no more than parents
ought to be willing to do, if not for the sake of the
native birds, at least to clear the way for the
children to do effective work in their behalf."

The shotgun, too, may sometimes be very
useful in the war on sparrows. In sparsely
settled districts it may generally be used without
danger, and the other birds are only temporarily
frightened by the noise. If the sparrows are
accustomed to feeding in densely packed flocks
around small heaps of grain, a great many may
be killed at one discharge of the weapon. The
gun is also very useful for gathering in here and
there, single birds which have become too wary
for trap or poison. When there is an oppor-
tunity to shoot only one of several birds, the
gunner should select a female for obvious reasons.
A preponderance of males is said to further the
work of extermination.

Almost any town or city can be cleared of
European sparrows and kept clear of them, if
just a few men of resource and resolution will
undertake the work. In almost any town there
are a certain number of men who have made a
great success in business, and I know and they

246 Wild Bird Guests

know that if the sparrows had stood between any
one of them and the success he has made, there
would not be a single sparrow in that town.

Crows

It would probably be unwise to exterminate
the crows even where some individuals are
addicted to nest-robbing. Such individuals
should of course be shot, if possible, and even
a general thinning out may be advisable. But
crows are very intelligent and interesting birds,
and the writer, for one, would miss them sadly
if they were all gone. Nevertheless we must
have consideration for the farmer and try to
help him to prevent the pulling of his corn and
other grain by the crows.

A single dead crow, hung up by the feet in a
conspicuous place usually makes the best kind of
a scare-crow and will protect a considerable area
of ground.

One of the most effective methods of prevent-
ing the pulling of corn is to give the corn a thin
coating of tar. There are several ways of doing
this. One of the best is to soak the corn in
water until it begins to germinate, and then stir
in enough tar to give each kernel a thin coating.
Some farmers simply moisten the corn with warm
water before stirring in the tar. If the latter

Problems Confronting Beginners 247

is applied while the corn is dry, it is said to
retard germination two or three days. After
the grain has been coated it is usually rolled in
plaster, wood ashes, or similar absorbent before
planting. The only objection to this is that it
prevents the use of the planting machine. A
little experimenting would probably result in the
discovery of a method to which there were no
objections.

Cats

The house cat problem is one of the hardest
with which the bird lover has to contend. The
genuine affection which many people have for
cats, the enormous numbers and wide distri-
bution of the animals, and the fact that they
have a certain value as destroyers of rats and
mice, all tend to increase the difficulty of solv-
ing the problem. But the very difficulty should
strengthen our determination to solve it, for its
solution is of very great consequence.

Personally the writer has no faith in the idea
of training cats. As Mr. Forbush says, there
are some cats which may be trained not to kill
birds but it is the writer's belief that they are
few. Fewer still are the owners who possess the
inclination, the time, and the very considerable
knowledge necessary to train them. Neither has

248 Wild Bird Guests

the writer much faith in the belling of cats. In-
nocent young birds which are often the victims
pay no attention to a bell, and though adult
birds may often be saved by the warning tinkle,
so will the rats and mice, to destroy which the
cats are presumably kept. Confinement is cer-
tainly effective and cat owners should resort to
this method to whatever extent is necessary to
prevent their pets from killing birds. If the cat
owner will think the matter over very calmly,
he will realize that his neighbor has certain rights
which should be respected ; rights which his
neighbor should, if necessary, insist on having
respected — the right to do his duty by protecting
our native birds, for instance. A cat owner who
persists in balking a neighbor who is unselfishly
striving to do his duty in this way, simply be-
cause it may be pleasant or convenient to keep
cats, places himself in an absolutely untenable
position. He has no more right to-do it than
he has to keep a savage dog at large and thus
prevent his neighbor from voting. Personally I
insist on my rights in this matter. My bird
guests are and always will be assured of the
fullest protection I can give them. Further-
more, cats are not allowed in the Bird Sanctuary
which is under my management. It would be a
crime to lure song birds to a supposed haven of

Problems Confronting Beginners 249

refuge and then permit them to be mangled by
cats. When a cat crosses the boundary of our
bird sanctuary he automatically signs his own
death warrant. All the neighbors know this and
take care of such cats as they consider worth
keeping. Most of them realize the justice of the
stand which is taken, and when a cat disappears
no questions are asked.

Some people may argue, "Suppose cats do
kill birds; haven't cats as much right to live as
the birds?" Perhaps they have, but since many
a cat destroys a hundred birds in the course of its
life — sometimes in one year of its life, we must
change the question a little and ask: "Has a
cat a hundred times as much right to live?" I
think even an ardent cat lover will hesitate
before answering "yes" to this question. And
if he does answer "yes," some people may find
it very hard to agree with him.

No sensible person would advocate the exter-
mination of cats, but I do believe that a serious
effort should be made to get rid of unnecessary
ones. There are many people owning a number
of these animals who could get along perfectly
well with one; and many other people, each of
whom has one cat too dearly beloved to give up,
who might without serious sacrifice resolve that
when it died they would never replace it.

250 Wild Bird Guests

Entirely apart from their relation to our song
birds, there is another vital reason for keeping
the cat population of this country down to the
minimum. The evidence against the domestic
cat as a carrier of disease appears to be increased
by every investigation of this subject by com-
petent people. Any lengthy discussion of the
matter would be quite out of place in a bird
book, but the writer feels it his duty to say just
enough to make intelligent owners of cats wish
to know a little more concerning the cat as a
factor in sanitary science. The fact that cats
carry and transmit bubonic plague is well estab-
lished. There is also positive proof that cats are
subject to tuberculosis and diphtheria; that they
are very susceptible to scabies and may transmit
this disease to dogs, cows, horses, and men ; that
they are subject to pulmonary distomatosis,
which is characterized by coughing and hemor-
rhage of the lungs, and that they afe frequently
infected with ringworm, blood flukes, and other
unpleasant and dangerous diseases. The writer
is inclined to believe that the fondling of cats by
children may be the source of many of the seem-
ingly mysterious cases of illness where the little
patients "have not been exposed" to the diseases
from which they suffer.

Anyone wishing to learn more about this sub-

Problems Confronting Beginners 251

ject, should first obtain from the Biological De-
partment of Clark University a copy of The
Cat and the Transmission of Disease, by Dr. C.
A. Osborne. If they wish to go still farther, they
will find in the back of Dr. Osborne's pamphlet,
a list of thirty-two other books and pamphlets
bearing more or less on this very important
matter.

But after all, it would seem that the best and
fairest solution of the cat problem lay in a
reasonable tax, similar to that levied upon the
owners of dogs. If there were a tax of say one
dollar for each male cat and five dollars for each
female, hundreds of thousands of birds would be
saved, the sufferings of innumerable homeless
cats would be prevented, and without injury
to anyone. Granting that it is necessary for
some people to keep one or more cats as a check
upon the rats and mice, surely any real necessity
is worth one dollar a year — the proposed tax
on a male cat, which is said to be more than the
equal of the female as a destroyer of rodents.
The result of such a tax would be that every
person who really needed a cat would be able to
keep one for a nominal fee, but that when such
a fee was required, few people would keep more
cats than were necessary. It would undoubtedly
result in a great reduction in the number of

252 Wild Bird Guests

female cats and consequently a reduction in the
number of unnecessary cats brought into the
world. As a result of a similar tax on dogs,
there is just one female dog in our own village;
there are scores of female cats.

The writer fails to see any legitimate objection
which can be made to imposing such a tax.
All humane persons, and especially cat lovers,
should welcome such a measure, first because it
would at once give the cat a legal status which it
does not now enjoy, and at the same time prevent
the misery now suffered by hundreds of thou-
sands of unnecessary and sadly neglected cats,
many of which get their revenge on thoughtless
humanity, in the country by destroying useful
birds, and in the city by preventing peace-
ful slumber. And surely all dealers in cats
should be favorable to such taxation because
the demand for the high-grade cat? which they
breed would be increased owing to the great
reduction in the supply of common cats, and
because there would be a tendency to own a cat
worth paying a tax on. Then from the money
derived from this tax there might be employed
in each town an officer or officers whose duty
it was to be informed of the number of cats
owned by each family and to humanely destroy
all cats not licensed according to law. It would

Problems Confronting Beginners 253

seem that intelligent people everywhere, cat
lovers and bird lovers alike, should get together
and discuss this question calmly and without
prejudice or bitterness, and see if they cannot
help one another out. Of course, no cat lover
likes to have a favorite cat shot or trapped or
poisoned, and no bird lover can be happy if a cat
is permitted to mangle and torture the gentle
feathered guests who come to the garden and
orchard. It is unneighborly to kill one's neigh-
bor's cat, but just as unneighborly to permit a
cat to kill one's neighbor's birds. Let us be
neighborly and work together to devise a reason-
able plan whereby it may be possible to have
what cats are necessary with the minimum
danger to the birds. And let us begin at once,
for as Frank M. Chapman sums up the situation,
"The most important problem confronting bird
protectors to-day is the devising of proper
means for the disposition of the surplus cat
population of this country. "

Dogs

Dogs are seldom very destructive to birds.
This is due partly to the fact that they do not
climb, partly to the fact that their method of
hunting is not, as a rule, well adapted to the

254 Wild Bird Guests

capturing of creatures endowed with flight, and
partly to the fact that they are more directly
under the control of their masters. Neverthe-
less, some dogs are notorious bird killers and
when it is shown that they cannot be controlled,
they should be given a painless death in the
interest of the many birds whose lives would
otherwise be taken.

Forestry and Bird Conservation

It goes without saying that every effort to
save the forests is indirectly an effort to save
the birds. The relation between birds and trees
is such that each one tends to preserve the other.
Forestry in one sense, then, means bird con-
servation, so bird lovers should always be willing
to lend a hand in the work of saving the forests.
The planting of trees and shrubs should be
encouraged everywhere. The planting of hedges
should also be encouraged ; this form of fencing
is beautiful, permanent, and very attractive to
birds. Farmers can help the work by sparing
the trees and shrubs which grow naturally by the
sides of the roads and lanes. By cutting these
down they may gain a few inches of unshaded
land, but they mar the beauty of the country-
side and drive away the birds, whose services

Problems Confronting Beginners 255

they need. And farmers should find time to do
a little planting on purpose for the birds. There
are on almost every farm waste places which
could gradually be filled up with trees and shrubs
and creepers which would insure the presence
of many birds useful to the farmer. If properly
selected, these would often save the cultivated
fruits which certain birds are so fond of.

Forest Fires

The desire to protect birds should be another
incentive to take every precaution to prevent
forest fires, and to quickly check and extinguish
those which have not been prevented. Owners
and managers of bird preserves will do well
to consult the best authorities on the subject
of preventing and fighting forest fires. In one
night a fire may undo the work of years. And
fire wardens when asked for permission to burn
over certain areas for any purpose, should always
give due consideration to the probable effect
upon the bird population, not only of the area in
question, but of the town in which it is situated.

Lighthouses

In order to prevent the loss of bird life which
occurs about our lighthouses every year, perhaps

256 Wild Bird Guests

we cannot do better than to follow the plan
carried out by the Royal Society for the Protec-
tion of Birds at St. Catherine's, Isle of Wight,
and at several other lighthouses on the English
coast. It seems that the birds do not, as a rule,
kill themselves by dashing against the lighthouse
as was at first supposed, but by fluttering about
it until they fall to the ground from sheer exhaus-
tion. It has been found that if "bird-rests" or
perches are arranged above and below the light
as pictured here, the fluttering birds will find
them, perch on them until morning, and then
go on their way unharmed. The chief drawback
seems to be the expense of installing the bird-
rests, but with the vast number of friends which
the birds now have in this country, this expense
could hardly be prohibitive.

Market Gunning and Plume Hunting

As for market gunning and plume hunting,
they are in many places already things of the
past. Where they still exist, the writer believes
that they should be done away with at once as
professions detrimental to the best interests of
the people. The men engaged in these pursuits
often have valuable knowledge of the birds and
their habits, and this knowledge may sometimes

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Problems Confronting Beginners 257

be turned to good account. A reformed gunner,
if honest, may make the best kind of a game
warden.

Sportsmen

The term "sportsman" in its very best sense,
is practically synonymous with "gentleman."
Both stand for the spirit of fair play and decent
conduct. With the true sportsman, therefore, we
can find no fault ; he takes no unfair advantage
of the wild things whether the law permits him
to or not; he prides himself on small bags
rather than on large ones, and does not shoot at
all when for any reason game is becoming scarce.
He does his best to secure good game laws, and
to see that they are enforced, and to encourage
the establishment of game refuges and bird
sanctuaries, public and private.

So-called Sportsmen

Unfortunately there is a large body of so-
called sportsmen or perhaps we should say
"self-styled" sportsmen, who constitute one of
the most difficult problems with which the bird-
protector has to contend. To be sure, some of
them obey the letter of the law, but they lack
the fine sensibilities of the gentleman, which

17

258 Wild Bird Guests

restrain the true sportsman when his reason
and sense of justice tell him that a law is inade-
quate. They are often selfish and inconsiderate.
How unfair it seems when we realize that if you
and I own farms adjoining a third farm owned
by one of these men, and if there are thirty
quail on the three farms, he can take his gun
and shoot, not only his ten, but your ten and my
ten as well, in spite of our earnest protests.
Surely we have as much right to our share of
these birds alive as he has to his share dead,
especially as the living quail are performing
valuable service for the community, and are
the ones from which future generations of quail
would come. But we're not allowed to have
them alive. If we want them at all, we must
take a gun and kill them — and kill them soon —
before our neighbor, the self-styled sportsman,
can get them.

Looking at the matter from another stand-
point, it is dishonest to cause our wild birds to
diminish in numbers or to permit others to cause
such diminution. In the wild birds, our ancestors
have left us a valuable property, which, if we
are honest, we shall pass on undiminished to the
next generation. In the matter of game birds,
we are perhaps entitled to the interest — that is,
the increase, but not one bird more; we cannot

Problems Confronting Beginners 259

take more without literally stealing it from those
who come after us — it is not ours to take. To
concede that we have the right to take ever so
small a percentage beyond the natural increase
of any species, means the extermination of that
species, and any schoolboy with a pencil and
paper can prove it.

The passage of the famous federal migratory
bird law is already bringing relief to many of the
harassed birds, and its good effect will be greatly
increased when we secure a treaty with Great
Britain providing for the protection of all birds
that migrate between the United States and
Canada.

In addition, we should see to it that closed
seasons are provided for all game birds in any
given locality, that are not more than holding
their own, and for other game birds open seasons
short enough and bag limits small enough to
absolutely prevent the decrease of those birds
by shooting.

Ignorant Foreigners

In order to deal most effectively with the
ignorant foreigners, we should first, by setting
a good example, show them the love we have for
our native birds. We must let them know by
notices printed in their own languages, that we

26o Wild Bird Guests

have laws which protect our birds, and that
there are penalties for the breaking of these laws.
Then, usually, there is in every colony of for-
eigners, at least one man of some influence who
has been here longer than the rest, who is better
educated, speaks English, and who is looked up
to as a counsellor and friend by his fellow-coun-
trymen. It is often wise to ask the cooperation
of this man, who should be glad to work with us
to prevent his friends from getting themselves
into serious trouble through the violation of
our laws. The editors of papers which circulate
among these people should always be willing to
help, and all contractors employing foreigners,
should, by the terms of their contracts or other-
wise, be made responsible for the safety of the
birds in the localities where their men are work-
ing. Illustrated lectures on the protection of
birds, if really convincing, are apt to do a lot of
good. Some time ago the writer tried the experi-
ment of giving a lecture before the members of a
colony of Italian workmen and their wives and
children. The lecture was given in English, of
which the audience knew little or nothing, but
by a logical series of pictures, accompanied by
gestures and changes in the tone of the voice,
they were made to follow the speaker with
intelligent interest, which was manifested by

Problems Confronting Beginners 261

their earnest and animated conversations during
and after the lecture. The members of that
audience had been especially active in the killing
of birds, but their American instructors believe
that the lecture has had a markedly good effect
upon them. The worst offender in the audience
came to his teacher next morning and volun-
teered the promise that he would never kill
another bird.

Ignorant Whites and Negroes in the South

The problem of the ignorant whites and ne-
groes of the south, is of course a serious one, but
by no means unsolvable. The closing of the
markets for the sale of birds will do much to
discourage the slaughter which has character-
ized many of the southern states. A stiff gun
license would save the birds from an army of
tattered pot-hunters who now rake the fields
and woods, and might be the means of making
self-respecting citizens out of some of these shift-
less, hand-to-mouth people. But after all, it
will be the education of the rising generation
which will have the most lasting effect. Teachers
both white and colored can perform a valuable
service to their country by fixing in the minds of
their pupils the importance of protecting our
birds. Mr. E. A. Quarles, an officer in the

262 Wild Bird Guests

American Game Protective and Propagation
Association, himself a southerner, speaks most
highly of the teachers in the southern schools,
and especially of the colored teachers. And
colored people should be encouraged to have
their own bird clubs. Colored boys and girls
can be taught to make nesting boxes and bird
baths and to plant trees and shrubs, and after
they become interested in this sort of work the
desire to kill will occupy smaller and smaller
space in their hearts.

And the churches, not only in the south, but
all over the country, might fittingly take a part
in this much needed work. I would suggest
the observance of what might be called "Bird
Sunday," on which the attention of every con-
gregation in the country might be called to the
beauty and usefulness of birds and the importance
of protecting them. I know of no more beautiful
or more fitting theme for a sermon. The min-
isters in my own village have already promised
to preach on this subject and, if their example is
widely followed, I believe that very great good
will come of it.

Miners, Lumbermen, etc.

There seems to be no legitimate reason why
the employees of mining and lumber camps

Problems Confronting Beginners 263

should be permitted to live on the wild birds
about them, any more than they should be
allowed to live on the crops and herds on the
nearby farms if there are any. In the old days
when there were no railroads and when game
was very plentiful, it was of course perfectly right
for pioneers of all kinds to live as best they could,
and to take the food which nature provided.
But now camps are too numerous to justify the
men in living off the country; and the game is
not sufficiently abundant to stand it. Moreover,
there are now ample markets for the purchase
of provisions of all kinds and in most places
ample means of transporting these provisions.
Save in very rare cases the feeding of the men is
a problem to be solved by the men themselves or
by their employer, and they should not be al-
lowed to solve it by stripping the country of
game, only a very small part of which may be
said to belong to them.

How Farmers Can Help

And the farmers, who more than any other
one class perhaps are directly benefited by the
birds should help with the work of protecting
them. They might begin by studying the birds,
at least enough to enable them to know their
friends from their enemies. For instance, every

264 Wild Bird Guests

farmer should be able to distinguish the two or
three destructive hawks from all other hawks,
and forbid the shooting of any but the destruc-
tive kinds. In their own interest they should
oppose all legislation providing for a bounty on
hawks and owls. In 1885 the Legislature of
Pennsylvania passed what was known as "The
Scalp Act," which was supposed to be in the
interest of the farmers, and which provided for a
bounty of fifty cents on each hawk, owl, weasel,
and mink killed within the limits of the state.
Dr. Clinton Hart Merriam, then Ornithologist
and Mammalogist of the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture, in his report to the De-
partment, estimated that to save a loss of
possibly $1875 a year through the destruction
of poultry, the state of Pennsylvania had in a
year and a half paid $90,000. He further re-
ported that this money had been paid for the
destruction of 128,571 benefactors, worth at
least $3,857,130 to the agricultural interests
of the state. In other words that the state had
for a year and a half been throwing away $2105
for every dollar saved.

The Small Boy

Somehow I can never become very much
worried over the question of the small boy with

Problems Confronting Beginners 265

his air gun and sling shot. I know he does a lot
of harm, but as a rule he isn't pigheaded, and as
soon as someone he believes in will take the
trouble to explain the situation to him, he'll
turn right round and become a bird protector
of a very useful kind. The harm he does is
usually the fault of the people who have brought
him up. He may or may not have been told not
to kill birds. It's altogether too easy to tell
boys not to do things; that's why so many
people do it. It's much harder to give them
good convincing reasons, and then offer a satis-
factory substitute for the thing forbidden. A
healthy, normal boy is active in mind and body,
and he must have an outlet for both kinds of
activity. He'd much sooner have a live bird
perched on his hand than a dead one in his
pocket, but unless his parents or guardians will
take the trouble to teach him how to get the live
bird, he'll probably take a gun and come back
with a dead one. Get him an interesting bird
book or two and let him learn something about
the birds. Take him to an illustrated lecture
on birds occasionally. When possible, arrange
to have him meet the man who wrote the book
and the man who gave the lecture; it will give
him a feeling of confidence to know men who are
interested in what he is doing or wants to do for

266 Wild Bird Guests

the birds. Both the writer and the lecturer may
be far too busy to talk to a man, but if they're
of the right kind, they'll seldom be too busy to
say just a few words of encouragement to a
boy or to answer one or two of his questions if
they can. But there is nothing like active work
for the birds to give the boy real enthusiasm.
Encourage him to feed the birds, to give them
water, and to put up nesting boxes for them, and
when the birds have become sufficiently tame,
let him photograph them, that he may be able
to show the results of his good work and thus
encourage others to do similar work. If there is
a bird club in town, let him join it; if there isn't,
organize one, or better still, help him to organize
it.

I am proud to say that I have many friends
among the boys, and most of them are loyal
friends of the birds also. One of them, a Boston
lad of thirteen, has organized two • bird clubs,
issues a monthly paper on birds and the care
of them, and recently gave a talk which led to
the establishment of a bird sanctuary. Let all
grown-up bird lovers remember one of the best
things Judge Ben Lindsey ever said: "Who
stands in the presence of a boy whose confidence
he has gained, stands in the presence of a great
opportunity. "

Problems Confronting Beginners 267

And there are few, if any, of these remarks
concerning boys which do not apply equally
well to girls.

A Word as to Scientists

As for scientific collectors, the writer believes
that they should be allowed to go about their
work unhampered by petty restrictions. Com-
pared with other gunners they shoot few birds
and these .alre generally made good use of.
The complaint that scientific men do not do
their share in the work of wild life conservation,
is generally unfair. It is usually the cry of some
conservationist who wishes he were scientific
but is not, who wishes to attract attention to his
own work by belittling that of others, or who
does not appreciate the fact that the work he
himself is doing is based largely on the work of
the scientist. The latter during years of patient
research has worked out convincing facts which
the unscientific conservationist often dashes off
in a few conventional sentences without half
realizing the enormous amount of effort they
represent. For example, one of the strongest
arguments in favor of preserving birds, is that
they have great economic value ; the facts which
support this argument have been ascertained,
not by the men who shout them from the house-

268 Wild Bird Guests

tops but by quiet, modest ornithologists, who sit
in their laboratories and whose names are seldom
seen in the newspapers. Other men, "on the
firing line, " do wonderfully effective work for the
cause of wild life conservation, but sometimes
they do not seem to realize that this work is
made possible, not so much by the noise of their
own big guns, as by the ammunition supplied to
them by the scientific men who work without
making any noise at all. There are literally
thousands of splendid men and women working
for the protection of our wild birds and there
will soon be many thousands more, and they
should know that the backbone of this bird
conservation movement is made up chiefly of the
scientific members of the American Ornitholo-
gists' Union, some of whom founded the original
Audubon Society, and who by patient, unselfish
toil through many years have laid the foundation
for the equally important but far more spec-
tacular work being done by others who are
oftener in the public eye.

CHAPTER XII

BIRD CLUBS AND HOW TO ORGANIZE THEM

AND now, "gentle reader/' as the old-time
ornithologists would have put it, if the foregoing
chapters have convinced you that birds need
protection, that it is worth our while to give it
to them, and that there are ways in which all of
us can help to give it to them, are you willing
to do your share, — to do your duty in a great
campaign in which the help of every man,
woman, and child is needed? Perhaps you are
already doing it along the lines which promise
the maximum amount of good to be realized
from your efforts. If so, I will simply say, "Go
ahead, and good luck to you/' But if not, let
me suggest that I know of no way in which the
average person can be so helpful to the cause of
bird protection as through membership in an
active local bird club. Whether it is desired to
help in work for the benefit of the local birds,
or in the passage of a great federal law for bird

conservation, you will be in a stronger position

269

270 Wild Bird Guests

if you have a good club behind you than you
would be alone.

It is the writer's belief that there should be a
bird club in every village, town, and city in the
country. In the larger cities, perhaps, there
should be more than one, and these might unite
in providing for our native birds in the public
parks and gardens. Similar clubs should be
started in colleges, private schools and acade-
mies, and where possible in the public school as
well. Such a club was started a few years ago
at Fay School, in Southborough, Massachusetts,
and the result has been most interesting. The
boys are reorganized at the beginning of each
school year, and they do enthusiastic, faithful
work for the birds not only while at school
but during the vacations. The writer recently
organized a similar club for the girls at Ferry
Hall, Lake Forest, Illinois. If each school will
do its small share, in ten years we shall have a
race of men and women who will know their
duty to our wild birds and how to perform
it.

The organization of a school bird club is a
very simple matter and may safely be left to
any enthusiastic instructor. If the latter has
had no experience, however, the rest of this
chapter, devoted to the organization of clubs of

Bird Clubs 271

somewhat wider scope, may contain some helpful
suggestions.

Some readers may ask, "Why is it necessary
to organize a bird club? Why cannot each
person help the birds as much as he or she likes
without going to the trouble of calling and at-
tending meetings, and to the expense of paying
dues?" I would say that just as the United
States is stronger and better than a lot of sepa-
rate and independent states would be, so in a
small way a bird club is stronger and better
than a number of independent bird lovers. No
matter how hard a particular person in a town
may have worked for the birds, when he joins a
bird club and compares notes with his fellow-
members at a club meeting, he is sure to find
that some of them have good ideas or suggestions
which had not occurred to him and which he
can make use of, while he, in turn, is sure to have
had experiences which none of the other members
have had and which they will be very glad to
profit by. In this way each member, instead
of having just his own ideas to help him, will
have the ideas of everybody in the club. Then,
there will be certain desirable things like the
posting of land against gunners, the protecting
of property against fire, the establishment of a
public bird sanctuary, the passing of a law or

272 Wild Bird Guests

ordinance for the protection of the birds, or the
starting of bird work among the school-children,
which might be quite difficult for an individual
to do, but which would be simple enough for a
club.

Let there be no doubt in your mind about
the desirability of organizing a bird club in your
town if there is not one there already. It is the
duty of every community to care for its own
birds, and it will be difficult indeed to perform
this duty unless the citizens organize for the
purpose. Who should start the ball rolling?
Why you, the reader, of course, and I'm going to
tell you exactly how to do it. Don't let anyone
dissuade you by telling you how hard it will be
or that you can't do it. You can do it, and
it's the people who can and will do things who
really count in the world. The person who or-
ganizes a bird club in his or her own town or
village is a public benefactor, and the neigh-
bors will recognize that fact sooner or later. So
start as soon as possible and make up your mind
to succeed. This is the way to go about it:

Call on some of your friends who are fond of
birds and tell them what you propose to do.
The more intelligent your friends are the more
likely they are to encourage and help you, so
go to the most intelligent friends you have.

Bird Clubs 273

Tell them that you are about to organize a
local bird club and ask their kind advice and
assistance. Listen carefully to all advice given
by older people or by those who have had more
experience than you have had, but if there is no
bird club in your town let no one dissuade you
from organizing one. You have a great opportu-
nity; don't let it pass.

With the assistance of your friends, few or
many as the case may be, prepare to call a
meeting for the purpose of organizing the club.
Arrange to have the meeting held in some
convenient place; if possible one likely to prove
acceptable to almost everybody in the com-
munity. If you have a town hall, that may be
the best place; the public library may have
a suitable hall, or the Board of Education will
probably be glad to allow you to use a school
assembly room. A church makes a very satis-
factory meeting place in a town where the people
are broad-minded and where a large number
will not refuse to attend simply because they
don't belong to that church. It makes little
difference where the meeting is held, provided
only that the right spirit prevails. For example :

The Meriden (N. H.) Bird Club was or-
ganized in the chapel of the local Academy;
the Alma (Michigan) Bird Club, in the High

18

274 Wild Bird Guests

School auditorium; the Hanover (N. H.) Bird
Club, in one of the Dartmouth College buildings;
the Brush Hill Bird Club of Milton, Massachu-
setts, in a private house; the Walpole (N. H.)
Bird Club, in the Public Library; the Wyncote
(Pa.) Bird Club, in a church; the Rhinebeck,
(N. Y.) Bird Club in the Town Hall, and the
Woodcrafters Bird Club of Culver, Indiana, was
organized out of doors in the woods.

Having decided on the place of meeting, the
next thing to do is to select a date that will be
satisfactory to most of the people. Care should
be taken not to conflict with regular prayer
meetings or more than necessary with enter-
tainments likely to draw heavily on the peo-
ple who would otherwise probably attend your
gathering. The date should be set far enough
in advance to allow for advertising and to
enable people with many engagements to ar-
range to come.

The next thing to do is to secure one or more
speakers who can be depended upon to arouse
enthusiasm in your cause. If possible arrange
to have an illustrated lecture by some man who
has had experience with bird clubs and who
can show by means of lantern slides the suc-
cess and pleasure that await the members of a
club organized along the lines you will suggest.

Bird Clubs 275

That will win half your battle for you. Your
state ornithologist may be just the man; if not,
he may be able to suggest someone. If not,
write to the Secretary of the Meriden Bird Club,
at Meriden, New Hampshire, whose business it is
to give information on such matters. In addition
to the principal speaker you should have one or
two good local men who are in sympathy with
your plans and in whom the people of your town
have confidence. A few words from them,
backing you up, will have a very good effect,
showing that you are not the only person in the
town who desires to have a bird club.

Now for the advertising of your meeting, and
this is very important. No matter how splendid
a message you may have for the people, it counts
for nothing if they don't hear it. A notice of
the meeting and its purpose should be posted
in several conspicuous places, and if there is a
local paper you will find that the editor will be
glad to help you by printing items about what
you propose to do. Perhaps he will go as
far as to print an editorial, setting his stamp
of approval on your efforts. In these public
notices be sure that the invitation is general.
The birds belong to everybody, and everybody
should have a hand in protecting them. Here
is a ground where everybody in your town, good

276 Wild Bird Guests

and bad, rich and poor, Christian, Pagan, Gen-
tile, and Jew may meet in a common cause, and
if you can get them to do it, it will not only
help to make your bird club a success, but it will
make for friendly feeling throughout the town.

There will be a few busy people whom it will
be especially desirable to have present — people
who by reason of their standing can greatly
help you if they will. Among these may be the
Superintendent of Schools and the teachers,
the ministers, the lawyers, the doctors, and
other professional people, all of whom should
gladly aid so great a cause. It is worth while
to make a special effort to have those people
present and if possible a special invitation should
be sent to each one of them, asking them to
kindly make a point of coming.

Before the day set for the meeting, consult the
principal bird lovers and prepare a "slate" of
the people whom it is desirable to have for
officers of the proposed club ; it is much easier to
do this at your leisure beforehand than to wait
until the meeting is on and then try to think
of suitable officers in a hurry. All other things
being equal, try to have both men and women
represented on your slate. Be sure to select
people who have, in addition to an interest in
birds, the ability and enthusiasm necessary to

Bird Clubs 277

carry the work of the club along in spite of the
little obstacles and discouragements which are
sure to arise. The list should be presented at
the proper time by some responsible person.

You will need a chairman. Perhaps you can
take the chair yourself; if not, perhaps the
lecturer will act at the close of his address. At
any rate the chairman should be a business-
like person who understands your plan and is
thoroughly in sympathy with it. He will explain
in a general way the purpose of the meeting,
and then call upon the other speakers in turn.
After that the audience should be given an
opportunity to ask questions and discuss them
briefly, and then it will be well to proceed to the
election of officers. In addition to these there
should be a committee on constitution. The
members of this may be either elected by those
present or appointed by the president. In any
case it should be the duty of this committee to
draw up a constitution to be presented at the
next meeting of the club. At the end of this
chapter will be found the constitutions of two
successful bird clubs ; from one or both of these
your committee may at least get some sugges-
tions. The first one given, modified to suit
local conditions, is already being used by a great
many bird clubs.

278 Wild Bird Guests

A word as to dues. You will see in the
sample constitutions that the dues for active
membership are made quite low. You will
find it a good plan to have the dues for at least
one form of membership made very low in order
that no one may be barred from your club
because he can't afford to belong to it. By
having other forms of membership with com-
paratively larger dues, you give generous people
with plenty of money an opportunity to befriend
the club to almost any extent. Be sure to
have a junior membership for the children.

It makes little difference what time of year a
bird club is organized; there is always plenty of
work to be done for the birds. In the spring
there are bird houses to put up, bird baths to
get ready, and the planting of crops and of trees
and shrubs and creepers which are attractive
to birds. In the summer, there .are bird baths
to put out and bird houses to make; in the
fall, more bird houses to put out and prepara-
tions to be made for winter feeding; while in
winter the work of feeding the birds alone
will afford plenty of activity for the club and
its members. The details of such work are
given in other parts of this book. In addition to
this active work for the birds, all sorts of things
may be done to interest the members, to promote

Bird Clubs 279

the study of birds and advance the cause of bird
protection.

Many of the boys and girls are sure to wish to
make nest boxes and food houses, and in some
cases the club will be able to follow the example
of the Cornfield Bird Club of Cornish, N. H.,
and employ a manual training teacher. But
unless this teacher has a first-hand knowledge
of birds he should not be asked to furnish the
designs for these appliances; he should be re-
quired merely to superintend the manufacture
of them from plans obtained by some author-
ity on the subject. This is very important,
as improperly constructed nest boxes and food
shelters are often worse than none, for they fail
to attract the birds and thus disappoint and
discourage people who might otherwise become
bird protectors. The Charlestown (N. H.) Bird
Club does not employ a teacher but distributes
among its members cardboard patterns from
which nest boxes may be made.

The Walpole Bird Club of Walpole, N. H.,
has had great success with what it calls "Bird
Socials." These are generally held in the fall
and winter months and the junior members are
invited to meet in some suitable hall or large
room under the leadership of older members.
The entertainment takes various forms. Some-

280 Wild Bird Guests

times there is a contest to see who can iden-
tify the greatest number of birds from colored
pictures held up one at a time. The young
people are provided with pencils and paper and
without consulting one another write down the
names of the birds as they are shown. At other
times the juniors are given instructions in ty-
ing suet to branches brought to the meeting on
purpose, and then after experimenting indoors
every member is provided with a generous lump
of suet and some string and the whole party
goes out doors to put into practice what they
have learned.

The Brookline (Mass.) Bird Club has a paid
instructor who helps the members to plan all
sorts of activities and at different times escorts
the children and adult members on bird walks
and aids them in identifying birds with which
they are not familiar. The Brush Hill Bird
Club of Milton, Mass., distinguished itself some
time ago by holding an exhibition of nest boxes,
food houses, bird baths, and other similar
appliances and the Arnold Arboretum coop-
erated by loaning a collection of shrubs, creepers,
and other plants which are especially attractive
to birds.

The Claremont (N. H.) Bird Club has been
interested in outlining a graded course of bird

Bird Clubs 281

study which has been adopted by the local
public schools.

The Meriden (N. H.) Bird Club, of which
the author is General Manager, has many
activities. First of all it is active in the organi-
zation of other bird clubs, and is responsible,
for the existence of scores of such clubs in dif-
ferent parts of the country. It has members
scattered over about thirty different states and
to each member is sent every year a beauti-
fully illustrated report telling what the club
has been doing, and giving instructions for the
carrying on of similar work in other parts of the
country. Then, the Meriden Bird Club has
an old farm of thirty-two acres, the gift of Helen
Woodruff Smith, which it has converted into
a bird sanctuary. Here all native birds are
provided with food in winter, with water in sum-
mer, and with many nesting boxes at all sea-
sons. It was for the dedication of this preserve
that Percy Mackaye wrote his famous Bird
Masque Sanctuary which has since been played
before many bird clubs, and which has already
resulted in the establishment of several bird
sanctuaries.

And speaking of bird sanctuaries, the writer
believes that it is a matter of much importance
that great numbers of these be established all

282 Wild Bird Guests

over the country. He thinks it might be well
for practically every bird club to include among
its objects, "the establishment of a bird sanctu-
ary." It would not be necessary in every case
to spend a lot of money for special devices to
attract the birds; the main thing would be to
secure a piece of property, large or small as the
case might be, which should be set aside as a
refuge; a place where birds would be safe from
all their enemies, man included. Care should be
taken, when possible, to select a piece of land
attractive to a large variety of birds. An al-
most ideal place would contain some old forest
with both evergreen and deciduous trees and
plenty of undergrowth; some old pasture land
overgrown with tangles of berry-bearing shrubs
and creepers; a grassy meadow, an old orchard,
a patch of swamp, a pond, and a good-sized
stream. It would seldom be possible to get
all these features on one place, but it would
often be possible to get several of them. If
nest boxes and other devices could be supplied
later, so much the better, but the mere posting
of it, and the freeing of it from bird enemies
would be a fine thing for the local birds and
would tend to give permanent value to the club.
Then, of course, private individuals, whenever
practicable, should make sanctuaries of their

Bird Clubs 283

own estates. This has already been done in
many places. One of the most successful is
that of Mr. Frederick C. Walcott, at Norfolk,
Connecticut. Here is a four thousand-acre tract
of typical New England country, with four ponds
— two natural and two artificial ones — dedicated
to the cause of bird protection only three years
ago at this writing and now literally alive with
birds at certain seasons. Not only the land
birds but the waterfowl also have found it a
haven of refuge. To use a bit of Mr. Walcott's
own description :— " Between two and three thou-
sand black ducks drop into the home pond each
fall and remain until late December before go-
ing farther south ; and each fall and spring, from
forty to fifty wild Canada geese stay with our
geese several days, for food." A further de-
scription of this and other more or less similar
sanctuaries may be found in Mr. Walcott's
chapter on "Private Game Preserves" in Dr.
William T. Hornaday's book, Wild Life Con-
servation in Theory and Practice.

The following letter from John B. Burnham,
President of the American Game Protective and
Propagation Association, is very valuable as
showing how a state legislature has set an ex-
ample in making easy the establishment of bird
sanctuaries.

284 Wild Bird Guests

" DEAR MR. BAYNES:

" Legislation has been enacted in the State of
New York giving bird protectionists a splendid
framework upon which to act for the creation
of bird sanctuaries. It seems to me that the
principles embodied in this legislation might
well be copied in other states because there
are altogether too few states in the country to-
day where the plan has received legislative
sanction.

"The new law permits the Conservation Com-
mission to set aside any lands owned by the
state, outside of the Adirondack and Catskill
parks, as sanctuaries. It also empowers the
Commission to purchase lands or the shooting
and fishing rights for the purpose of creating
sanctuaries and it puts such lands under the
protection of the Conservation Commission.

"Another section of the Conservation Law,
amended to its present form in 1913, provides
for the creation of sanctuaries where private
individuals desire to dedicate their lands for
such a purpose and in this instance also the
obligation to protect the land against trespass
by law violators is placed upon the Conserva-
tion Commission.

" By the enactment of these laws it will be
seen that provision is made for the establish-

Bird Clubs 285

ment of sanctuaries in a flexible and compre-
hensive way. The sanctuaries are intended
for both game and game bird protection and
also for the protection of song and insectivor-
ous birds. In its practical application from
the latter standpoint, splendid opportunities are
open to individuals and bird clubs all over the
state to secure the needed protection for their
feathered friends. The state has many old
farms as its property scattered in almost every
county. A list of these is published by the
State Comptroller in book form. These lands
were acquired by tax sale, escheat, by fore-
closure of mortgage, given by the United States
Loan Commissioners, and in other ways.

" Suppose there was a bird club located in the
town of Hillsdale, Columbia County. By con-
sulting the Comptroller's list, they would find
that the state owned the old Dutcher farm of
one hundred and twenty acres in that town,
and running parallel into the town of Austerlitz.
The club would appoint a committee to investi-
gate the farm from the standpoint of its availa-
bility for a bird sanctuary. Armed with the
facts they could send a concise description of the
property to the Conservation Commission with
the request that it be dedicated as a sanctu-
ary under the provisions of Section 366 of

286 Wild Bird Guests

the Conservation Law. The Commission would
then pass upon the petition and I have no doubt
give it favorable attention and probably set
it aside as a bird and game refuge and post it
against all shooting and put it in charge of
the nearest state game protector to see that
there was no poaching or trespassing upon the
property.

" It would then be up to the bird club to see
that the tract was made a really effective sanctu-
ary. From their funds they could provide for
the proper care of the tract and I am sure that
the Conservation Commission would be glad to
give them the necessary privileges. Bird boxes
could be erected for nesting places and feeding
stations installed for the winter care of the birds
and arrangements made for discouraging the
attacks of cats or other predatory animals and
birds.

" I see on reading over the section that no
provision has been made for trapping vermin
in this section. The law should be amended
to give this privilege under proper regulations.

"While such tracts are available in many
sections of the state, there are places, of course,
having bird clubs, where state land is not avail-
able. Here two methods for securing sanctu-
aries are possible under the existing law. By one

Bird Clubs 287

of these the commission may be petitioned to
buy a certain tract or to buy the shooting and
fishing rights on the tract. This, of course,
would require an appropriation by the legislature
and it would be necessary for the bird club, first,
to secure the approval of the Commission for
the project and then from a practical standpoint
to follow it up by appearing before the proper
legislative committees.

" On the other hand, it is a very simple matter
to find some landowner who is willing to dedicate
his private land for the purpose of a sanctuary.
To secure a legal dedication of this land it is
necessary, under Section 153 of the Conserva-
tion Law, to procure from the Conservation
Commission, two blanks which have been
printed for this purpose. One of these, known
as Form 36, is headed 'Dedication of Land for
Game and Bird Refuge.' This is in the form
of a petition to the town board of the town in
which the land is located. It contains a simple
description of the land, with the request that it
be set aside by the Conservation Commission
for a game and bird refuge for a period not
exceeding ten years. Of course, the dedication
can be renewed at the expiration of this period.
The petition is signed by the owner of the land.

"The other form is Form 37, and is headed

288 Wild Bird Guests

'Resolution for Game and Bird Refuge/ This
resolution is a request by a majority of the town
board to set aside the land specified in the
original petition as ^ game and bird refuge. It
can either be passed at a meeting of the town
board or signed by a majority of the board, which
includes the supervisor, two justices of the peace,
and the town clerk. There has never, so far as
the writer's experience goes, been any difficulty
in securing the signatures of a majority of the
town board to such a petition and the method
has the practical advantage of enlisting the town
officers in the sanctuary project. After Form
37 is signed it is sent to the Conservation Com-
mission for ratification and the petitioners may
feel certain that it will be favorably acted upon.

"Under these various provisions of the New
York Law there is not a town in the state of
New York which cannot have its bird sanctu-
ary. All that is necessary is a little educational
work to arouse interest, the formation of a club
to insure the proper care of the sanctuary and
afterwards faithfully sustained work. The re-
ward will be, to the workers, knowledge of work
well done, and to the community a marked
increase in the number of birds, with the re-
sult and effect of better crops on farms and in
gardens, fewer diseased and dead trees in the

Bird Clubs 289

woodlands, and greater productiveness of apple
orchards as well as the joy which comes from
the beauty of color and form and song of the
birds.

" Yours very truly,

" (Signed) JOHN B. BURNHAM,
"President."

That the state of Minnesota is alive to the
importance of this work is evidenced by the cre-
ation of the Minnetonka Game Refuge, where
the birds are absolutely protected on a tract of
over SS>°°° acres adjacent to the city of Minne-
apolis.

Federal sanctuaries are also of the utmost
importance and no one appreciated this fact
more strongly than President Roosevelt, who
during his administration, turned from other
important matters long enough to create over
fifty national refuges for wild birds.

But to return to New Hampshire. Other
activities of the Meriden Bird Club consist
in the placing of bird charts in the local schools,
in the Academy, and in the summer hotel; in
starting a library of bird books; in conducting
a column of bird notes in the local paper; in
offering prizes for the best essays on methods of
attracting birds, and for photographs illustrating

10

290 Wild Bird Guests

the methods. This club also conducts debates
on such subjects as, "Resolved, that the insect-
eating birds are more beneficial than the seed-
eating birds," and "Resolved, that the birds
of prey are more beneficial than the insect-
eating birds/' and " Resolved, that the seed-
eating birds are more beneficial than the birds
of prey." The debating of these and similar
subjects is of the greatest importance to the
cause of bird protection.

I know of no better or stronger way to present
the facts to the farmers, than to have these
interesting and vital questions debated in the
schools and academies where the farmers may
come to hear. There are thousands of people
who may not care to read a pile of government
reports who will gladly sit for an hour and wit-
ness a live contest between young people whom
they know, and who have the gist of those
reports at their fingers' ends and can present
it in a concise, interesting, and effective manner.
It is the writer's opinion that the debating of
these subjects should be encouraged in every
grammar school, high school, academy, and
private school in the country, and that if in-
terscholastic debates could be brought about, so
much the better. No end of material for such
debates has been collected in recent years, and is

Bird Clubs 291

available in the form of bulletins issued by the
federal and state departments of agriculture,
respectively, leaflets published by the Audubon
Societies and books written by specialists.

A very important piece of work recently
suggested by Mr. H. W. Henshaw, Chief of the
Bureau of Biological Survey at Washington,
should also interest all bird clubs looking for
new outlets for their enthusiasm. It consists
of making bird censuses during the nesting
season, in order to find out how many pairs of
the different species of birds breed within defi-
nite areas. Mr. Henshaw suggests three dif-
ferent kinds of censuses. To make the first
and most important, which we will call Census
A, it is suggested that you select an area not
less than forty acres and not more than eighty
acres, representing fairly average farm condi-
tions, including farm buildings, shade trees,
orchards, plowed land, and pasture or meadow,
but without woodland. The second census,
which we will refer to as B, would be made on an
isolated piece of woodland ten to twenty acres
in extent, situated conveniently near the first
tract, and the third census desired, which we
will call C, is that of some definite area of wood-
land, forty acres perhaps, forming part of a
much larger tract of timber, either deciduous

292 Wild Bird Guests

or evergreen. Each area should be selected with
a view to making a yearly census of it and for
that reason it would be best to select an area not
likely to change very much for several years
at least. Otherwise, when there were found to
be changes in the bird population, it would be
difficult to tell if these changes were due to an
increase or decrease in the number of birds or
simply to changed conditions in that particular
neighborhood.

The height of the breeding season is the time to
make these bird censuses, because the spring
migration is over, the fall migration has not
begun, so that the birds which you see in any
locality are all likely to be birds which belong
to that locality and which have their homes
there. At Washington, D. C., latitude 39
degrees, the 3Oth of May is about the time to
begin; farther south one should begin a little
earlier, and farther north somewhat later of
course. In the latitude of Boston, the yth or 8th
of June would be about right, while in Maine
the middle of that month would be early enough.

The plan recommended by Mr. Henshaw and
which has proved very successful for several
years, is to begin at daylight and zig-zag back
and forth across the whole area, counting the
male birds, which at this hour and season should

Bird Clubs 293

be in full song and easily observed. After the
birds have settled in their summer quarters, each
adult male may safely be taken to represent
a breeding pair. No bird should be counted
unless he is actually within the boundaries of
the area, no matter how near the boundary he
may be. The census of the first day should not
be taken as final. It should be checked by
several days of further observation to make sure
that each bird counted was actually nesting
within the area, and also to make sure that
no species has been overlooked. The census
should be sent to the Chief of the Bureau of
Biological Survey, Washington, D. C., about
the 3Oth of June, and with it should go such a
careful statement of the exact boundaries of the
area selected that it would be possible twenty-
five years hence to go right to the place, cover
exactly the same ground, and repeat the census.
The name and address of the owner of the
property should also be given in every instance.
In the case of Census A, the observer should
send, in addition, a careful description of the
character of the land, tell whether the area is
dry upland or swampy bottom land. He should
give the number of acres in each of the principal
crops, — in permanent meadow, pasture, orchard,
swamp, and road and whether there are streams

294 Wild Bird Guests

or ponds on the place. He should also tell
the kinds of fencing used, and whether there is
much or little brush along the fences, roads, or
streams, or in the permanent pasture.

In making Census B or C, the person making
it should, in addition to giving the size and
exact boundaries of the wooded tract, name
the principal kinds of trees and state whether
there is much or little undergrowth.

The making of one or more such censuses will
not only be a very interesting and helpful bit
of work for the person making it, but will furnish
definite information concerning the bird life of
the region, and give a basis for comparison
when in future years the Government wishes to
find out whether the laws made for the protec-
tion of birds are effective or not.

And before saying farewell to this subject, I
must mention still another bird census which
every bird club in the country should take part
in. Several years ago Mr. Frank M. Chapman,
editor of that splendid little magazine, Bird
Lore, started a winter bird census to be taken on
Christmas Day with a view to showing in a
general way how the birds are distributed at this
season. This is a very interesting and instruc-
tive census; it not only gives a very good idea of
the comparative abundance of the permanent

Bird Clubs 295

residents and regular winter visitants in different
parts of the country, but forms a record of those
occasional flights of crossbills, redpolls, pine
grosbeaks, and other birds which in many places
are seen but once in several years. The plan
adopted in taking this census is very simple.
It consists of going out for a walk at any time on
Christmas Day, and jotting down in a note-book
the kinds of birds we have seen and the number
of individuals of each kind. We should also
jot down the time we started, the time we re-
turned, whether the day was clear, cloudy, or
snowy, the direction and strength of the wind,
and the temperature. We should write the cen-
sus very plainly and mail it that very night,
if possible, to the Editor of Bird Lore, American
Museum of Natural History, New York City.
As there will be scores of other bird students
sending in lists, it is necessary, in order not to
overburden the busy editor, to make out our
list exactly as he asks us to. Then it can be
published in the next issue of Bird Lore just as
we send it in. A census from my own village,
for instance, should read about like this:

Meriden, N. H.

Time, 8.30 A.M. to 12.45 P.M. Clear; wind,
northwest, very light; temperature, 15 degrees.

296 Wild Bird Guests

Screech owl, i; hairy woodpecker, 2; downy
woodpecker, i; blue jay, 8; redpolls, 100; white-
breasted nuthatch, 3; chickadee, 10; golden-
crowned kinglet, 4. Total, 9 species, 134
individuals.

ERNEST L. HUSE.

No doubt many other lines of activity will
occur to you and your fellow members from time
to time, but perhaps I have given enough sug-
gestions to show that there is plenty of interest-
ing and much-needed work for every bird club
that wishes to do its share in the world-wide
campaign for the protection of birds.

As your interest grows you will wish to know
what is being done by other organizations work-
ing along similar lines. Get in touch with the
Meriden Bird Club at Meriden, N. H., which
started the bird-club movement on the lines
suggested above. It publishes a beautifully
illustrated annual report giving the results of
all sorts of interesting experiments in feeding
birds and providing homes for them.

If you are especially interested in game-bird
protection, write to the American Game Pro-
tective and Propagation Association, which has
headquarters at 233 Broadway, New York.

If you have a State Audubon Society, look it

Bird Clubs 297

up and encourage it in any way you can. Make
yourself familiar with the splendid work being
done by the National Association of Audubon
Societies whose office is at 1794 Broadway,
New York. This organization, besides protect-
ing the birds directly, is helping to educate the
coming generation to a sense of its duty towards
feathered creatures generally. The American
Museum of Natural History and the New York
Zoological Society, both of New York, are con-
ducting equally noble campaigns of education,
each along its own interesting and effective lines.
These and many others are worthy of the best
support which we can give them.

So many people ask where they may obtain
current information concerning matters pertain-
ing to bird protection, that it may not be out of
place to mention the fact that the Bureau of
Biological Survey, Washington, D. C., publishes
each year a pamphlet called Directory of
Officials and Organizations Concerned with the
Protection of Birds and Game. This may
be obtained free by writing to the Chief of the
Bureau, and every bird club should have at
least one copy for the use of its members. To
keep in touch with the principal organizations
listed here may be of mutual advantage. They
can easily supply you with information which

298 Wild Bird Guests

might otherwise be hard for you to get, and you,
in turn, can help them when they need support
for good bills which they may be trying to have
passed for the protection of birds. Law-makers
will usually make laws if they are sure that
enough people really want them, and if we want
them we should let the law-makers know it.

In parting, the author hopes to be forgiven for
his insistence if he urges the reader once more in
the interest of American wild bird protection, to
organize a bird club. ORGANIZE A BIRD
CLUB!

"Gentles, if you have followed me,
Now is no need to say good-bye;
For we shall meet in revery
Wherever glad birds sing and fly —
Wherever sad birds bleed and dumbly die."

MACKAYE.

APPENDIX

CONSTITUTION OF THE MERIDEN (N. H.) BIRD

CLUB

ARTICLE I

NAME

The name of this organization shall be The
Meriden Bird Club.

ARTICLE II
OBJECTS

The objects of this Club shall be the increase
and protection of our local wild birds, the stimu-
lation of interest in bird life, and the gradual
establishment of a model bird sanctuary.

ARTICLE III
MEMBERSHIP

SEC. i. The membership of this Club shall
consist of Associate Members, Active Members,
Junior Members, Life Members, Patrons, and
Benefactors.

299

300 Wild Bird Guests

SEC. 2. Any person in sympathy with the
objects of this Club, whether a resident of the
town or not, may become an Associate Member
by paying the prescribed dues.

SEC. 3. Any resident of the town of Plainfield
may become an Active Member of this Club on
election by the Executive Committee and pay-
ment of the prescribed dues.

SEC. 4. Any child under fourteen years of
age may become a Junior Member of this Club
by payment of ten cents.

SEC. 5. Any person in sympathy with the
objects of this Club may become a Life Member,
Patron, or Benefactor upon payment of the
prescribed fee and upon election by the Execu-
tive Committee.

SEC. 6. The dues of an Associate Member
shall be one dollar, payable annually. The dues
of an Active Member shall be fifty cents, pay-
able annually. The fee of a Life Member shall
be twenty-five dollars, payable at one time. The
fee of a Patron shall be one hundred dollars
payable at one time. The fee of a Benefactor
shall be one thousand dollars.

Sec. 7. The voting power shall be limited to
Active Members.

SEC. 8. A member may be expelled from the
Club upon the written recommendation of any

Appendix 301

officer, by the majority vote of the members of
the Executive Committe present at any meeting,
provided notice of such action with reasons
therefor, be presented to the member and to the
Executive Committee, at least one week before
the meeting.

ARTICLE IV

GOVERNMENT

SEC. i. The governing body of this Club
shall consist of a Board of Directors of twelve
persons, divided into two groups of six each.
The tenure of office of the Directors shall be two
years, but only six Directors' terms can expire
by limitation in any one year. Therefore at
each annual meeting of the Club six new mem-
bers shall be elected by ballot of a majority of the
members present, due notice having been given
in advance to all members.

SEC. 2. The Board of Directors shall elect
at its annual meeting, from its own members, by
ballot and a majority vote, a President, four
Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer and a
General Manager.

SEC. 3. There shall also be an Executive
Committee, to consist of the officers of the Club,
as mentioned in Section 2, the President and

302 Wild Bird Guests

Secretary of the Senior Class of Kimball Union
Academy, and ten persons to be chosen by the
Board of Directors at its annual meeting.

SEC. 4. Vacancies occurring in the Board of
Directors and Executive Committee may be
filled by the President, or, in his absence, by the
Executive Committee, to complete the year in
which they occur.

SEC. 5. At the annual meeting a Nominating
Committee, consisting of three members, shall
be appointed by the presiding officer; its duty
shall be to present a list of candidates to fill
vacancies in the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE v

DUTIES OF OFFICERS

SEC. i. The duties of officers shall be such
as pertain to their respective offices in similar
clubs. The President shall be ex-officio Chair-
man of the Board of Directors and of the Execu-
tive Committee.

SEC. 2. The Vice- Presidents shall perform
the duties of the President in his absence, in the
order of seniority of office.

SEC. 3. The Secretary shall record the pro-
ceedings of the Club, of its Board of Directors,
and its Executive Committee, in books to be

Appendix 303

kept for that purpose ; shall have charge of the
records of the Club and of its publications;
shall conduct the correspondence of the Club, and
keep a record thereof; shall inform members,
Directors, and officers of their election, and shall
give notice of all meetings, and inform Direc-
tors and officers of all matters requiring their
attention.

SEC. 4. The Treasurer shall collect all bills
and assessments due the Club; shall pay from
the funds of the Club all bills duly approved
by the President or the General Manager; shall
send to the Secretary at least once a month, the
names and addresses of all new members. He
shall furnish, at the request of the Executive
Committee, a statement of the financial condition
of the Club.

SEC. 5. The General Manager shall have
general oversight of all the activities planned by
the Club for carrying on its work as indicated
in Article 2.

ARTICLE VI
MEETINGS

SEC. I. There shall be a regular meeting of
the Club on the third Saturday of each month,
and the third Saturday of September shall be the

304 Wild Bird Guests

date of the annual meeting. A printed notice of
each regular meeting shall be posted in at least
two conspicuous places in the village, seven days
prior to each meeting.

SEC. 2. A notice of the annual meeting shall
be mailed to each member not less than ten days
prior to such meeting.

SEC. 3. A special meeting may be called at
any time on three days' notice, by the President,
by the General Manager, or on a written applica-
tion signed by three members of the Executive
Committee.

SEC. 4. Nine members shall constitute a
quorum at any meeting of the Club.

SEC. 5. Meetings of the Executive Committee
may be held at such times as may be appointed
by the President, or in his absence, by the
Secretary, and two days' notice of each meeting
shall be given. Three members shall constitute
a quorum.

SEC. 6. The order of business shall be as
follows:

Reading records of previous meeting.

Reports of committees.

Reading of communications.

Election of members.

Unfinished business.

New business.

Appendix 305

SEC. 7. Robert's manual shall be the authority
for the decision of disputed questions of order
and debate.

ARTICLE VII

AMENDMENTS

Amendments or alterations of the Constitution
may be made by a two-thirds vote of the mem-
bers present at any meeting, provided written
notice of the proposed change shall have been
sent to every member of the Club not less than
four days prior to said meeting

CONSTITUTION OF THE BRUSH HILL
BIRD CLUB

ARTICLE I

NAME

This Club shall be known as the Brush Hill
Bird Club.

ARTICLE II
PURPOSE

The purpose of this Club shall be to encourage
protection of and interest in bird life in our
community.

ARTICLE III

MEMBERSHIP

SECTION i. The membership in this Club
shall consist of Active Membership, Active
Family Membership, Associate Membership,

Life Membership, Patrons, and Benefactors.

306

Appendix 307

SECTION 2. Any resident of the Brush Hill-
Blue Hill district of Milton may become an
Active Member on payment of the prescribed
dues.

SECTION 3. Any family residing in the Brush
Hill-Blue Hill district of Milton may obtain a
Family Membership on payment of the pre-
scribed dues.

SECTION 4. Any non-resident in sympathy
with the purpose of this Club may become an
Associate Member on payment of the prescribed
dues.

SECTION 5. Any person may become a Life
Member on payment of the prescribed fee.

SECTION 6. Any person may become a
Patron on payment of the prescribed fee.

SECTION 7. Any person may become a
Benefactor on payment of the prescribed fee.

SECTION 8. The dues for Active Members
shall be $i, payable annually.

SECTION 9. The dues for Active Family
Membership shall be £5, payable annually.

SECTION 10. The dues for Associate Member-
ship shall be $i, payable annually.

SECTION n. The fee for Life Membership
shall be $25.

SECTION 12. The fee for a Patron shall be
$100.

308 Wild Bird Guests

SECTION 13. The fee for a Benefactor shall be
£1000.

SECTION 14. The voting power shall be
limited to active members.

ARTICLE IV
MEETINGS OF THE CLUB

Meetings shall be held at the discretion of the
Executive Committee. The first meeting after
September i shall be the business meeting at
which the election of officers for the ensuing year
shall be held.

ARTICLE v

GOVERNMENT

The officers of the Club shall consist of a
President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer,
and General Manager. The officers of the Club
shall constitute the Executive Committee, which
Committee shall pass upon all business that is
to be brought before the Club for action.

DICTION

-/fo

MARJIN HOV5E

309

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

IN the preparation of this book the author has
had much assistance — some direct from friends,
some through the medium of books, pamphlets,
and reports. To everyone who has given him
any help, direct or indirect, he acknowledges his
indebtedness and proffers his thanks, and to
none more gratefully than to those scientific
men in Washington and elsewhere, upon whose
patient, accurate, but often unappreciated work,
some of the strongest pleas for bird conservation
are based.

By far the most important assistance which
the writer received, was that given by his friend,
Frederic H. Kennard, of Boston, landscape archi-
tect and ornithologist, whose peculiar combina-
tion of knowledge enabled him to contribute the
sub-chapter on the trees, shrubs, and creepers
which are attractive to birds (and in many cases
to man, as well), quite the most unique and in
many respects the most valuable part of the

whole book.

310

Appendix 311

Edward Howe Forbush, State Ornithologist
for Massachusetts, has helped the author in
many ways — by kindly advice on several occa-
sions, by the contribution of photographs for
illustrations, but most of all through his books —
Useful Birds and Their Protection and Game
Birds, Wild Fowl, and Shore Birds, two of the
most useful bird books ever penned. When an
unbiased history of American wild bird conser-
vation is written, there will be few names which
stand out with greater prominence than that of
Edward Howe Forbush, who never pauses in his
work to tell the world that it is he who is doing
it.

The author is also indebted to Mr. E. A.
Quarles, of Forest Hills, Long Island, for valuable
suggestions and advice.

Others who have given direct assistance in
one way or another are :

Mrs. Helen Foster Barnett, Mrs. E. H. Baynes,
Professor S. A. Baldwin, William Brewster,
Harold C. Bryant, John Burnham, Miss Milli-
cent Bush, Walter M. Buswell, Hon. Fred. W.
Chambers, Andre Champollion, Frank M. Chap-
man, Frank C. Clarke, Austin Corbin, Miss Annie
H. Duncan, Miss Kate Percy Douglas, William
Dutcher, George S. Edgell, George M. Fales,
Waldo B. Fay, Dr. G. W. Field, Dr. A. K. Fisher,

312 Wild Bird Guests

Prof. P. B. Hadley, Ralph Hoffmann, Paul Howe,
Dr. Ernest L. Huse, Dr. Frederick A. Lucas,
Mrs. W. S. McCrea, S. R. Morse, Philip Orcutt,
Edward L. Parker, Miss Marie Parker, C. H.
Pease, Dr. Thomas S. Roberts, Hon. Theodore
Roosevelt, James Savage, A. R. Shattuck, Mrs.
Louis Saint-Gaudens, Miss Helen Woodruff
Smith, Wilbur Smith, Miss Kate Stewart, Mrs.
Ezra R. Thayer, Dr. Townsend W. Thorndike,
Dr. Charles H. Townsend, Dr. Charles W. Town-
send, William Lyman Underwood, Frederick C.
Walcott, Mahonri Young.

PRINCIPAL BOOKS CONSULTED

Our Vanishing Wild Life. By DR. WILLIAM
T. HORNADAY. A book which should be
read by everyone interested in wild life
conservation.

Methods of Attracting Wild Birds. By GILBERT
H. TRAFTON.

How to Attract and Protect Wild Birds. By
MARTIN HIESEMAN. An account of the
wonderful and successful experiments of
Baron Hans von Berlepsch.

Useful Birds and Their Protection. By EDWARD
HOWE FORBUSH.

Game Birds, Wild Fowl, and Shore Birds. By
EDWARD HOWE FORBUSH.

Appendix 313

Nature Study and Life. By PROF. CLIFTON F.
HODGE.

Birds in Their Relation to Man. By DR. CLAR-
ENCE M. WEED and DR. NED DEARBORN.

Wild Life Conservation in Theory and Practice.
By DR. WILLIAM T. HORNADAY and FRED-
ERICK C. WALCOTT.

Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America.
By FRANK M. CHAPMAN. The best popular
all-round bird book for the region it covers.

The Woodpeckers. By FANNY HARDY ECKSTORM.

Sanctuary. A Bird Masque. By PERCY MAC-
KAYE. The first serious attempt to aid
the cause of wild life conservation by means
of the drama.

The Present Hour. By PERCY MACKAYE.

PRINCIPAL PAMPHLETS AND REPORTS CONSULTED

A Lapland Longspur Tragedy. By DR. THOMAS
S. ROBERTS.

Report of the Buffalo Academy of Natural Sci-
ences, 1908.

Coccidiosis in the English Sparrow. By PROF.
PHILIP B. HADLEY.

The Cat— What Shall We Do with It ? By M. S.
and L. A. LACEY.

The Cat and the Transmission of Disease. By
DR. C. A. OSBORNE.

314 Wild Bird Guests

The English Sparrow as a Pest. By NED
DEARBORN.

Birds of Laysan and the Leeward Islands. By
WALTER K. FISHER.

Report of an Expedition to Laysan Island, 1911.
By HOMER R. DILL and WILLIAM ALANSON
BRYAN.

Some Common Birds in Their Relation to Agri-
culture. By F. E. L. BEAL.

The Hawks and Owls of the United States. By
A. K. FISHER.

Birds as Weed Destroyers. By SYLVESTER D.

JUDD.

Food of Bobolinks, Blackbirds, and Crackles. By

F. E. L. BEAL.
The Common Crow of the United States. By

WALTER B. BARROWS and E. A. SCHWARZ.
A Determination of the Economic Status of the

Western Meadow Lark (Surnella neglectd)

in California. By HAROLD CHILD BRYANT.
Birds in Relation to a Grasshopper Outbreak in

California. By HAROLD CHILD BRYANT.
Bird Houses and How to Build Them. By

NED DEARBORN.

Parts of the book have appeared in Bird

Lore, The National Geographic Magazine, The
Outlook, The American Museum Journal, Recrea-

Appendix 315

tion, Collier's Weekly, The Boston Evening Tran-
script, and The Boston Herald, and the author
hereby expresses his appreciation of the cour-
tesies extended to him by the editors of these
publications.

INDEX

Abt, Franz, 121

Aigrettes, 55, 56

Albatross, 57 ; black-footed, 58

Alma (Michigan) Bird Club, 273

American Game Protective and

Propagation Association, 36,

191, 283, 296
American Museum of Natural

History, 295
Antilles, 87
Arkansas, 103

Arnold Arboretum, 182, 280
Art, birds used in, 119, 120
Audubon, 21, 27, 47
Audubon Bird House Company,

199
Audubon Societies, National

Association of, 123, 148, 199,

217, 297
Audubon Society, Connecticut,

74
Aughey, Professor Samuel, 89,

90, 103
Auk, The, 12
Auk, extinction of, 45
Australia, Ballarat, 88

B

Bahamas, 87
Ballarat, Australia, 88
Barnett, Helen Foster, 231
Barrows, Professor Walter B.,

105

Baths, bird, 128 ; construction of,
221; dangers from cats, 229;
depth of water, 222; descrip-
tion of, 223; description of

one made by author, 227;
footing, 227; list of birds
making use of, 226; methods,
230; necessity for, 219; plans,
230

Baynes, Mrs., 6, 7, 8, 128, 151
Beal, Professor F. E. L., 83, 108,

112

Bears, harm done by, 24

Beethoven, 120

Beetles, predacious, destruction
of, 85

Berlepsch, Baron Hans von,
152, 157, 193, 216; bird
houses made by, 196, 198;
nest box, 128

Bermudas, 87

Berries, winter food, 1 6

Biological Laboratory at Kings-
ton, Rhode Island, 18

Bird Craft, 74

Bird-feeders, 134, 135

Bird-feeding, danger from cats,
146; in the home garden, 136;
methods, 130, 142, 145; neces-
sity, 131; plans, 130; seed-
eating birds, 146; snowstorms,
129; winter, 129, 131, 132,
145, 146

Bird-food, coal ashes, 141; de-
scription of, 169; fruits, 169;
general list for winter use,
138-140; grit, 141; herbaceous
plants, 190; hot, preparation
of, 158, 159; mortar, 141;
salt, 140; seeds, 90, 91, 137-
140; suet, 138

Bird Lore, plan of census, 294

Bird Masque, 281

317

318

Index

"Bird-minders," 108

Bird-protectors, 136

"Bird Socials," 279

Birds, allies of farmers, 81;
check upon weeds, 82; cloth-
mg> 39 » destruction of, by
fences, 41, 42; food, 39, 43;
ornaments, 39; paradise for,
193; value of, 86

Birds bathing, description of, 220

"Birds' Christmas Tree," 159

Birds of prey, American, 35;
Cooper's hawk, 34; duck
hawk, 34; feeding habits of,
93» 94! sharp-shinned hawk,

34

Blackbirds, 70; family, 107;
food of, 83; red-winged, 33;
value of, 107; yellow-headed,

Blake, William, 122

Bluebirds, 116; destruction of,

12; homes for, 195; nesting

box, 199; situation of nesting

box, 206; value of, HI, 112;

winter feeding of, 164
Bobolinks, 116; economic value

of, 84; harm done by, 107,

1 08; slaughter of, 108; value

of, 107

Bob white, food of, value of, 91
Boobies, 59

Borneo: birds of paradise, ex-
tinct species, head-hunting

natives, 40
Boxes, bird, kinds making use

of, 199
Boy Scouts, "first aid" corps,

236; work of, 130, 132
Boys, small, bird clubs, 266;

destruction by, 71, 72, 264;

teaching of ,265
Breakfast, birds invited to,

table, nuts, 6

Brewster, William, 27, 189
Brookline (Mass.) Bird Club,

280
Brush Hill Bird Club of Milton,

Mass., 274

Bryan, Professor William A.,
61, 107

Buffalo, 14; Society of Natural

Sciences, 234
Bunting, snow, 139, 145; value

of, 1 08
Bureau of Animal Industry,

Washington, D. C., 237
Bureau of Biological Survey,

Washington, D. C., 291, 297
Burnham, John B., letter from,

283

Burroughs, John, 124
Buzzard, turkey, scavengers,

value of, 94

California, University of, 107

Canaan, Connecticut, 36

Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 52

Captain Cartwright's Journal,
24

Catbird, description of bath,
224; value of, HI, 113

Catchers, bird, professional, 66

Caterpillars, food for birds, 84;
hairy, food for cuckoos, 100

Cats, house, destruction by,
methods, 74

Cats, belling, 247; house, 74;
restraining of, 247; tax on,
251; " Tramp, " 76 ; unneces-
sary ones, 249

Census, bird, description of, 291 ;
sample, 295

Chaff, 139

Chambers, Fred. W., 17

"Chanticleer" bow, 123

Chapman, Frank M.f 54, 74, 87,
253, 294

Charlestown (N. H.) Bird Club,
279

Chaucer, 122

Chickadees, at breakfast, 6;
attack on, 31, no; band of, 9;
boldness of, 8 ; cheerfulness of,
116; eating sandwich, 7; fear-
lessness of, 2 ; " food dish ' ' for,

Index

319

Chickadees — Continued

156; friendliness of, 128; Hud-
sonian, 138, 139, 140, 145;
in New Hampshire, 7; insect-
eating bird, 16; investigating
rifle, 7; nesting box for, situa-
tion of, 199, 206; suet, 8;
tameness of, 5; value of, no;
Washington, 159; window box,
148; winter food of, 137;
work of, in

Chipmunks, 29

Cincinnati Zoological Park, 51

Citizen Bird, 74

Clap nets, 50

Claremont (N. H.) Bird Club, 280

Clark University, 251

Clubs, bird, advertising of, 275;
debates, 290; desirability of,
272; dues, 278; exhibitions,
280; growth of, 297; members,
276; Meriden, 137, 140, 228,
23I> 273, 281; necessity for,
271; organizations interested
in, 297; organization of, 269;
place of meeting, 274; plea
for, 298; work, 278

Coccidiosis, disease of intestines,
18; sparrows as carriers of, 18

Collectors, scientific, 72, 73

Columbus, Christopher, value of
birds to, 87

Connecticut, Canaan, 36 ; Stam-
ford, 14

Conservation, bird, 254

Corbin Game Preserve, 41

Corn, cracked, Kaffir, whole, 139,
140

Cornfield Bird Club of Cornish,
N. H., 279

Cornish, N. H., 26

Courage, 10, n

"Cover," description of, 167;
value of, 1 68

Cowbirds, value of, 107

Coyotes, enemies of birds, 21

Crane, whooping, extinction of, 54

Cranes, destroyers of insects,
88,89

Creation, The, Haydn, 121
Creepers, 16; brown, 138, 145;

destroyers of insects, 1 1 1
Crickets, black, destruction of,

85

Crossbills, 66, 148; American,
3, 140; fearlessness of, 141;
white-winged, 3, 140, 144

Crows, 116, 133, 138, 246;
economic value of, 105, 106;
in raccoons' pen, 25; nest
robbing by, 33

Crumbs, bread, dog-biscuit,
doughnut, 139, 140

Cuckoos, black-billed, 100 ; Class-
ification of, 84; destroyers of
insects, 101 ; yellow-billed, 100

Curlews, bristle-thighed, 59; de-
stroyers of insects, 89 ; Esqui-
mau, 89 ; Esquimau, extinction
of i 5J» 53; nesting grounds,
slaughter of, winter quarters
of, 52

D

Damage done by "so-called"
sportsmen, 63, 64

Deane, Walter, 189

Dearborn, Ned, 79, 101, 242

Department of Agriculture,
Washington, D. C., 81, 82,
102, 190, 191, 195, 264

Destroyers of bird life, civilized
man, savages, 40

Destroyers of insects, 88

Destruction of birds, disease, 10,
17; elements, 10; foreigners,
66; forest fires, 42; light-
houses, 40; lumber camps, 71 ;
mining camps, 71; Statue of
Liberty, New York Harbor,
40; wholesale, 39; wild birds,
17; wire fences, 41; wires,
telephone, telegraph, electric
light, trolley, 41

Directory of Officials and Organi-
zations Concerned with the
Protection of Birds and Game,
297

320

Index

Diseases, cholera, bubonic plague

i?

Dodo, extinction of, cause, 78

Dogs, bird, 71; destroyers, 77;
Esquimau, 77

Dormouse, 30

Dough bird, extinction of, 51-53

Dove, mourning, food of, 91 ;
wild, 190

Drinking pools, necessity for,
219

Ducks, 14, 17; Labrador, ex-
tinction of, 45; mallard, nest
boxes of, 213; value of, 88;
wild, 191; wood, nest boxes,
213

Dutcher, William, 123, 148, 199

E

Early settlers: friends of birds,
destruction of bird enemies, 43
Eckstorm, Fanny Hardy, 102
Eggs, auks, 39; destruction of,
25; eider ducks', 24; Esqui-
maux, 39 ; as food, 39
Egret, snowy, extinction of, 54
Elements, help against, 17
Enemies, savage people, civilized

man, 37

English Sparrow as a Pest, 79
Epidemics, 17; at Utah, 237
Ermine, 26
Esquimaux, 39

European sparrows, extermina-
tion of, 241

Farmers' Bulletin, 79

Farmers, destroyers of birds of

prey, 64; help given by, 263
Faxon, C. E., 189
Fay School, Southborough,

Mass., 270

Feathers, for women's hats, 40
Federal Migratory Bird Law,

259
Feeding devices, Audubon food

house, 152-155; food bell, 155;
"food dish," 156; food tray,
147; food tree, 156; food
trolley, 160; stuffed cocoanuts,
159; weathercock food house,
149-151 ; window box, 148
Feeding ground, 4
Feeding stations, 134, 135, 146
Ferry Hall, Lake Forest, 111., 270
Finches, 16, 59; purple, 129, 138,
144; sharp-tailed, 27; value of,
1 08
Fisher, A. K., 35, 82, 92, 94, 98,

159

Fisher, Walter K., 58
Flickers, 34, 138; nesting box,
199; situation of, 209; value of,

101

Flies, house, destruction of, 104;
ichneumon, destruction of, 85

Floods, effect of, on ground-
nesting birds, 13, 14

Flycatchers, great -crested, nest-
ing box, 199, 209; method of
feeding, 103

Food bell 155

"Food-cake, "158

"Food-dish, "i 56

Food houses, 142; Audubon, 152-
1 55 ; weathercock, 149 ; descrip-
tion of, 151

Food shelters, 147

"Food stone," 138, 158

Food tray, description of, 147

Food tree, 5; description of, 156

Food trolley, 142; description of,
use, 1 60

Forbes, Professor, 112

Forbush, Edward Howe, 16, 37,
75, 87, 90, 247

Foreigners, ignorant, damage
done by, 259; trouble with,
260

Forest fires, damage done by,
255; prevention and evils, 42

Forestry, 254

Foxes, enemies of birds, 22, 23;
good points, 24

Frankfort, Kentucky, 46

Index

321

Freeman, Harriet E., 230
Fruits, food for birds, lists, 170-
186

G

Game birds, 22
Game wardens, 69
Gander, wild, 116
Geese, 14; value of, 88
Germany, establishment of bird

sanctuaries, 198
Goldfinches, 66, 139, 140
Gophers, 84
Goshawk, habitat, 93
Grackles, value of, 107; as

robbers of nests, 32
Great Lakes, n
Grebe, pied-billed, 37, 44
Grieg, Edouard, 121
Grit, 141
Grosbeak, cardinal, 138, 139;

pine, 2, 31, 116, 138, 144, 148;

rosebreasted, 138
Grouse, 19, 22, 190; ruffed, 139;

value of, 90
Gulls, Franklin, economic value

of, 85; scavengers, 87; sea,

beauty of, 116; market for, 44

H

Hadley, Professor Philip B., 18
Hale, Edward Everett, 230
Hanover (N. H.) Bird Club, 274
Hawaiian Islands, 57; birds

seen on, exploration of, 58
Hawks, classification of, 92;
Cooper's, 35, 84, 238; destruc-
tiveness of, 84; duck, habitat,
93? goshawk, habitat, 93;
marsh, habitat, food, method
of hunting, value of, young,
95-97; night, food of, 103;
red-shouldered, 95 ; red-tailed,
range of, 94; sharp-shinned,
35, 84, 238; sparrow, nesting
box, situation of, 199, 213;
species, 92; value to farmers,
91, 94

21

Haydn, The Creation, 121

Henshaw, H. W., 291

Heron, great white, extinction

of, 54
Herons, 89 ; destroyers of insects,

88 ; market for, 44
Hieseman, Martin, 216
Hodge, Professor Clifton F., 164,

243

Honey-eaters, 59
Hornaday, William T., 283
Hospitality, necessity for, 163
Houses, bird, description of, 195,

196

Humming-bird, 117; ruby-
throated, 144, 190
Huse, Ernest L., 296; descrip-
tion of bird bath of, 228

Ibises, destroyers of insects, 88
Ice: insect-eating birds, 16
"Ike" Bonner's stage, I
Information, current, 297
Insect-eating birds, II
Insect life, scarcity of, 12
Inspiration of birds to poets,
English, 122; American, 124
Isle of Wight, 256
Italy, 66, 69

J

Jacobs, Captain, 61

Japan, 57

Jay, blue, as a robber of nests,
32, 133, 144; aesthetic value
of, 1 1 6 ; death of, 35 ; economic
value of, 105; food for, 138,
139, 140; tameness of, 151;
window box for, 148

Journal, Captain Cartwright's,
24

Judd, Dr. Sylvester D., 83, 91,
no

Juncos, 1 8, 144, 1 60; aesthetic
value of, 1 1 6; economic value
of, 1 08; food for, 138, 139, 140

322

Index

K

Kennard, Frederic H., 3, 28,

54, 152, 167, 190, 216
Kentucky, Frankfort, 46
Killing for market, 40
King, Professor, 91
King of the Pacific, 57
Kingbird, 33

Kingbird, flycatcher, food of, 104
Kinglets, value of, work of, no

Labrador, 52, 77; duck, extinc-
tion of, 45, 46
Landlord, bird lover as, 192
Lapland longspurs, 12, 139
Lark, shore, 139
Law, Federal Migratory Bird,

259
Laysan, 56, 57; slaughter on,

61,62
Lighthouses, "bird rests," 256;

damage done by, 255
Lime, bird, 66
Locusts, destruction of, 86;

Rocky Mountain, 103
Longspur, Lapland, 12, 139
Lumbermen, damage done by,

263

M

MacKaye, Percy, 118, 231, 281

Magdalen Islands, 52

Maid of the Mist, 14

Malaria, 104

Man -o '-war birds, 59

Market: cold storage, 44; game
dealers, 44; growth of, 44;
gunning, 256; gunners, pro-
fessional, 44; hunter, 64;
methods used, 64; milliners,
44; the passing of, 256;
plumage, 39, 40; plume hunt-
ing, 256

Marsh hens, 27

Martins, purple, 12, 109; situa-
tion of nest boxes, 209

Massachusetts, 12, 13, 75; New-
ton Centre, 152, 167; Stone-
ham, 134; Woods Hole, 51

Mauritius, Island of, 78

McAtree, W. L., 191

Meadowlarks, 70; economic
status of, 107; value of, 107;
Western, 107

Mealworms, study of, 165

Meat, raw, 138

Meriden, N. H., i, 2, 4, 5, 31,
33, 144, 145, 156, 163, 190,
199, 214, 220, 231 ; bird baths,
229; Bird Club, 137, 140, 228,
231, 273, 281, 289; destroying
bird enemies, 240

Merriam, Clinton Hart, 264

Mexico, Gulf of, 1 1

Mice, meadow, damage done
by, 30; destruction of, 97

Michelet, Jules, 122

Michigan, in

Miller-birds, 59

Milliners' market, 44

Miners, damage done by, 262

Mink, 25

Minnesota, 289; Natural History
Survey, 12

Minnetonka Game Refuge, 289

Mocking birds, value of, in

Mormons, 84

Music, origin of, 120

Muskrats as egg-eaters, 29

N

Natural enemies of birds, 20
Nature, balance of, 38
Nebraska, 89, 103, 109
Negroes, teachers of, 262
Nest boxes, Berlepsch, 128, 200;
best places for, 205; cleaning
of, 214; condition of, 202;
general situation of, 202;
position of, 203; preparation
for hanging, 204; selection of,
201; sizes, 204; time, reasons
for, 201
Nesting material, 217

Index

323

Nesting sites, necessity for, 192

New England, 12, 116

Newfoundland, 52

New Hampshire, 7, 41, 144;
Cornish, 26; Meridcn, 145,
156, 163, 190, 199, 214, 220,
231 ; Meridcn Bird Club, 289

Newton Centre, Mass., 152, 167

New York City, 295

New York Zoological Society,
297

Norfolk, Connecticut, 283

North Carolina, 91

Nutcracker, Clark's, 138

Nuthatches, 5, 16, 66, 137, 159;
red-breasted, 2, 138, 139, 140,
145, 199, 208; situation of
nest boxes, 199, 208; value of,
no; white-breasted, 2, 138,
139, 140, 145, 199, 208; work
of, no

Nuts, 6; broken, 5, 139; nut-
meat, 128

Oats, 139

Opossums, destroyers of nests,

3°

Origin of music, 120

Orioles, market for, 44; value of,
107

Ornis, Spirit of all birds, 118

Osborne, C. A., 251

Owls, Arcadian, 212; barn, food
of, value of, 98; classification
of, 92; destructiveness of, 33;
great horned, economic value
of, 33, 34, 84; hooting of, 117;
pellets of, 99; screech, 33, 34,
138, nesting box of, 199;
situation of nesting box of,
214; range of, 99; value of,
99; short-eared, food of, 82;
species, 92; value to farmers,
91

Paraquet, Carolina, extinction
of, 54

Pastoral Symphony, 120

Pease, C. H., 36

Pelicans, white, food of, 88

Pennsylvania, 42; "The Scalp
Act," 264

Pests, destruction of, 81 ; lists of,
90

Petrels, 59

Phoebe, habits of, 104; houses of,
215; nests of, 13

Pigs as destroyers of birds, 77

Pigeon, passenger, armies of,
47; extinction of, 46; flight
formation of, 46; flocks raised
in confinement, 5 1 ; harvest of,
methods used, 48, 49, 50;
markets for, 50; nests, 48;
slaughter at roosts, 48 ; squabs,
48

Pike, an enemy of birds, 37

Plover, golden, 59; upland, 89

Plumage, demand for, 44, 54

Plume-hunter, 118; "so-called"
sportsman, 63

Poachers, Italian, 69

Polar bears, 24

Policemen of the air, 103

Pork, 138

Potato bugs, 90

Poultry. 22

Problems for beginners, 233;
cats, training of, 247; crows,
246; disease, 236; dogs, 253;
European sparrows, 240-242;
floods, natural enemies, killing
of, 238; preservation tracts,
239; storms, 268; waterfalls,

234

Protection of birds, aesthetic
reasons, 115; by law, 62;
economic reasons, 8 1 ; moral
reasons, 115, 125, 126

Quail, 16, 19, 22, 139, 140;
Massachusetts, saving of, 135;
starvation of, in Massachu-
setts, 16; value of, 90

324

Index

Quarles, E. A., 261
Quarles, F. A., 36
Quicklime, birds buried in, 17

Raccoons, destructiveness of,
24, 30; food of, 25

Rails, 59; photographing of, 60

Raquet, description and use of,
67

Rats as destroyers, 29, 30

Redpolls, 2; flocks of, 4; food of,
139; friendliness of, 144; win-
dow box for, 148

Redstarts, 65

Rehder, Alfred, 190

Resources, natural, conservation
of, 125

Rhinebeck, N. Y., Bird Club,

Rhode Island, Biological Labora-
tory at Kingston, 18

Roberts, Thomas S., 12

Robins, 18; houses of, 216;
legal killing of, 69; slaughter
of, in Southern States, 70;
value of, in, 112; winter
feeding of, 164; winter hard-
ships of , 13; young, 33

Roccolos, description and use
of, 67

Rodents, destruction of, 81

Roosevelt, Theodore, 289

Royal Society for the Protec-
tion of Birds at St. Catherine's,
256

S

Saint-Gaudens, Mrs. Louis, 231

Salt, 3, 140

Salt Lake City, Utah, 85

Sanctuary, bird, 55, 190, 231;
bath, 220; cats, 248; descrip-
tion of a successful one, 283;
establishment of, 282; estab-
lishment of , in Germany, 198;
Sanctuary, 118

Sanderson, Professor E. D., in

Sandpipers, destroyers of insects,
89

Sapsucker, yellow-bellied, de-
structiveness of, 84; nest boxes

of, 2 12

Savage, James, 14, 15, 234
Saw whet, nest boxes, 212
Scalp Act, The, 264
Scarecrow, 246
Scavengers, 94 ; sea-gulls, 87
Schaeffer, Nathan C., 42
Schubert, Cymbeline, 121
Scientists, value of, 267
Scotland, King James I., 122
"Seebach," 193
Seeds, kinds used for food, 90,

91, 138, 139, 140; kinds used

for winter food, 137; purchase

of, 137

Seton, Ernest Thompson, 215
Shakespeare, 122
Shearwaters, 59
Shelter woods, 216
Shelves, for Phoebes and Robins,

215
Shrikes, destructive to small

birds, 30; economic value of,

no

Siegfried, 120

Siskins, 66; pine, 2, 4, 139, 144
Skunks, 25; damage done by, 27
Skylarks, 66
Slaughter of birds by negroes,

poor whites, 69, 70
Smite, Helen Woodruff, 281
Smithsonian Institute, 99
Snakes, black, milk, 36
Snipe family, 17
Snow, seed-eating birds, 16
Society for Prevention of Cruelty

to Animals, 77
Sparrows, 16; chipping, 13, 139,

140, 144; European, 18;

enemy of song birds, 78;

extermination of, 30, 241 ;

field, 18; food of, 83; fox, 138,

139, 140, 145; poisoning of,

243; song, 14, 34; attacked by

snake, 37; description of bath,

Index

325

Sparrows — Continued

225; tree, 138, 139, 140;
economic value of, 84; food
found in, 109; value of, 108;
vesper, 138, 139, 140, 144;
white crowned, 138, 139, 140,
144; white-throated, 18, 138,
139, 140, 144; traps, 242

Spenser, Edmund, 122

Spirit of all birds, Ornis, 118

Spoonbills, destroyers of in-
sects, 88, 89

Sportsmen, 44, "so-called," 54,
257; true, 257

Squirrels, flying, 29; gray, 29;
ground, 84; red, robbers of
nests, 28, 29

Stark, 118

Starling, 138; European, 78, 80;
insect-destroyers, 89; nesting
boxes, 199

Stickney, Mr. Lewis, 31

Stoneham, Mass., 6, 134

Storms, 1 1 ; a means of destruc-
tion, 10

Storks, insect-destroyers, 88

Suet, 133; as food, 5; pockets,
description and use of, 145;
suet stations, 144

Survey, Minnesota Natural His-
tory, 12

Swallows, bank, 27; beneficial
species, 109; destruction of,
12; tree, homes for, 195; nest-
ing boxes for, 199; situation
of nesting boxes for, 208

Swan, trumpeter, extinction of,

o 54

Swans, 14; injured, 234; rescu-
ing of, 235; saving, 15; value
of, 88

Swifts, destruction of, 12; meth-
od of feeding of, 103

Symbolism of birds, 119

Tameness of birds, 59
Tanagers, scarlet, 28, 44

Tar, the use of, 246

Teal, 59

Tenebrio molitor, 165

Tenebrio obscurus, 165

Terns, 58 ; economic value of,

86; market for, 44; value to

sailors, 87

Thrashers, value of, 1 1 1
Thrush, 34, 66; hermit, 18, 138,

145; value of, in, 113
Titmice, 66; tufted, 138, 139,

!59» value of, no; work of,

no

Townsend, Charles H., 24, 77
Trafton, Gilbert H., 140, 160
Traps, sparrow, 242
Tropic birds, red-tailed, 59
Trunstones, 59
Turkey vultures, 16
Turtles, snapping, 35, 36
Typhoid, 104

U

University of California, 107
Utah, 84, 85; waterfowl, 17

Village, The Bird, I
Vireos, value of, work of, no
Virginia, 91

Vultures, black, value of, scaven-
gers, 93, 94; turkey, 16

W

Waco, Neb., Esquimau curlew

shot at, 53
Wagner, 120

Walcott, Frederick C., 283
Walnuts, English, 7
Walpole, N. H., Bird Club, 274
Warblers, n, 66; myrtle, 138,

144; value of, no; work of,

no

Washington, 159
Waterfalls, 14

326

Index

Waxwings, cedar, 70; winter

feeding of, 164
Weasel, method of hungry

birds, 25; white, 26
Weed, Clarence Moores, 101,

H3

Weeds, destruction of, 82

West Indies, 52

Wheat, 140

Whippoor wills, 103, 117

Whites, ignorant, 261

Whitman, Professor C. O., 51

Wild birds, entertainment in
winter, 127; friendliness of,
127; providing for needs of,
125; winter feeding of, 127;
winter foods of, 129

Wild cats, enemies of birds, 21

Wilson, Alexander, 46

Window boxes, 142, 148

Window-sill, 5

Winter, lack of food, 15

Wisconsin, 91, 102

Wolverines, harm done by, 27

Wolves, enemies of birds, 2 1

Woodcrafters Bird Club of Cul-
ver, Ind., 274

Woodpeckers, 16, 66; destroyers
of insects, 101 ; downy, 5, 138,
144, 160; nesting box of, 199,
214; value of, 102; hairy, 138,
144; nesting box of, 199, 214;
food of, 102; flicker, 138;
pileated, 212; red-bellied, 138,
145; red-headed, 199, 209;
species, 101; three-toed, 213;
value of, 1 01

Woods Hole, Mass., 51

Worms, mealworms, raising of,
164, 165

Wrens, homes for, 195, 199;
value of, no; winter, 144;
work of, no

Wright, Mabel Osgood, 74

Wyncote (Pa.) Bird Club, 274

Young, destruction of, 25;
robins, 33

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
BERKELEY

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY