CHAPTER L 



BIRDS IN RELATION TO MAN 



Questions. 1. Why do birds migrate ? 2. Do all species of birds mi- 

 grate? 3. Do any other animals migrate? 4. Are all birds useful? 

 5. Are some birds useful in one place and harmful in another ? 



410. The food of birds. Like most animals, birds are im- 

 portant to us chiefly because of the food they eat. But, unlike 

 the feeding of insects, for example, the feeding of birds usually 

 turns out to be of advantage to mankind. Many birds have 

 been convicted of eating fruit in the orchards, and the sharp- 

 shinned hawk has been caught carrying off hens from the barn- 

 yard. Nevertheless, a systematic study of the contents of birds' 

 stomachs has shown that most of the food of nearly all the 

 common wild birds consists of insects, the seeds of various 

 undesirable weeds, and field mice, shrews, mice, and other unde- 

 sirable animals. In other words, with a very few exceptions the 

 common birds are worth more to us alive (as destroyers of in- 

 sects, vermin, and weeds) than dead (as sources of feathers or 

 food) or as objects of sport (see section 339). 



411. Destruction of birds. Many birds are destroyed wantonly 

 by ignorant boys and men, others are killed to supply feathers, 

 and still others are exterminated in the destruction of eggs and 

 nests out of idle curiosity or in the interests of untrained col- 

 lecting. In rural and suburban districts the domestic cat is a 

 serious menace to the native birds and does far more damage 

 than is paid for by the mice or rats killed; it is doubtful 

 whether we should not all be better off with the domestic cat 

 completely eliminated from our lives. 



During their migrations many birds are killed by flying 

 against telephone and telegraph wires, and against plate-glass 

 windows. Along the shores, migrating birds frequently hover 



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