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 



