512 BIRDS OF FIELD, FOREST AND PARK 



intimate. Tree Swallow and Song Sparrow, 

 Chippy and Sebec, Blue Bird and Barn Swallow, 

 Robin and Phoebe, have come close about, nest- 

 ing in the woodbine on the house and in the little 

 boxes placed for them. In the thick grass fields 

 close by, the summer colony is large, including 

 Bobolinks, Meadow Larks, Sandpipers, Savanna, 

 Song and Vesper Sparrows, with Kingbirds and 

 Cherrybirds in the orchard. We are convinced 

 that the presence of cats would appreciably lessen 

 the number of these trustful friends of ours. The 

 mellow notes of the Black-billed Cuckoo as he 

 slyly rests for a time hidden in the thick top of a 

 shade tree on the lawn on a sultry August day, 

 having regaled himself, perhaps, upon the juicy 

 inmates of some caterpillar tent, is a far greater 

 joy to us than could be experienced from the 

 presence of a house cat. And, besides, the destruc- 

 tion of a caterpillar nest is neither a clean nor 

 a pleasing task for the caretaker of the lawn. 



Startling figures relating to the destruction of 

 birds by cats have been given by those who have 

 looked deeply into the question. In a single sea- 

 son a house cat has been known to kill fifty birds. 

 That they destroy annually in the United States 

 several millions of valuable birds seems a con- 

 servative estimate. It is believed that annually 

 the seventy thousand cats in Massachusetts kill 

 ten birds each, making an appalling total of seven 

 hundred thousand birds. In this ratio through- 

 out the whole country the destruction would be 

 almost incredible. 



There are many other natural enemies of the 

 birds both in feathers and fur. Several varieties 



