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 



