310 BI RDS OF FIELD, FOREST AND PARK 



become a summer denizen of the potato field? 

 None can deny the charm of his presence, an- 

 nounced by his plaintive cry, one of the most 

 alluring call-notes heard in all birdland. Well 

 authenticated reports are at hand of Bob-white's 

 very successful protection of the potato patch 

 from its all too common foe. In our garden a 

 Rose-breasted Grosbeak has been seen regaling 

 himself upon the fat grubs of the potato beetle 

 with a zest that betokened great fondness for 

 these delicacies. How better could one secure 

 even partial immunity for the potato field than 

 to encourage Quail and Grosbeak to take up 

 residence there.'' Would it not be worth our 

 attention to insure them a full guaranty of pro- 

 tection if for no other purpose than to attract 

 such beautiful and interesting neighbors? Very 

 laudable and successful efforts have been made 

 by public-spirited citizens keenly alive to the 

 necessity for protecting the birds, toward estab- 

 lishing bird reservations. Beginning in 191 3, 

 through the efforts of the Audubon Society, 

 several islands along the coast of the Southern 

 States, which are all the year homes of several 

 varieties and winter feeding ground for numer- 

 ous migrants, have been designated by Federal 

 authorities as places where birds shall be free 

 from molestation by man. This movement has 

 extended until there are in all some seventy such 

 reservations scattered through the Western 

 States — even to far-away Alaska. To be sure, 

 adequate funds from Federal sources have not 

 been available to properly police these isolated 

 tracts, yet the amount available, supplemented 



