218 CHANGES IN THE HABITS OF BIRDS. 



the sight of their enemies by the hues of their plumage. 

 Their natural predisposition to be marked only by a cer- 

 tain combination of hues is weakened. Being entirely in 

 the power and under the protection of man, color is of no 

 service to them, as in their natural and wild state. 



Mr. S. P. Fowler communicated to the Essex Institute 

 an essay containing some important facts concerning the 

 changes in the habits of some of our own birds. He says : 

 " The Baltimore oriole still constructs her nest after the 

 old pattern, but lias learned to weave it with materials 

 furnished by civilization. I have a whole nest of this 

 kind, made wholly from materials swept out of a milli- 

 ner's shop, woven and interlaced with ribbons and laces, 

 including a threaded needle." He has noticed for several 

 years a change in the habits of our crow-blackbirds, and 

 thinks they are becoming domesticated, like the rooks of 

 England. This change, in his opinion, has been pro- 

 duced by planting the white pine in cultivated grounds ; 

 for wherever a group of pines has attained the height of 

 thirty feet, they are visited by these birds for breeding, 

 even in proximity to our populous villages. He states 

 that the purple finches have followed the evergreen trees 

 that have been planted in our enclosures, though a few 

 years since they were to be seen chiefly in our cedar 

 groves. They have grown more numerous, and breed in 

 his grounds on the branches of the spruce, feeding early 

 in the season upon the flower-buds of the elm or upon 

 those of the pear-tree. 



From the same communication I gather the following 

 facts, slightly abridging his statements. He remarks that 

 the swallows have suffered more changes than any other 

 birds of our vicinity. The barn-swallows long since left 

 their ancient breeding-places, the overhanging cliffs of 

 rocks, and have sought buildings erected by man ; the 

 chimney-swallow has deserted the hollow sycamore for 



