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 



