wholly unable to get food for either themselves or their young, and the majority 

 of them left this region. The Martin houses, when cleaned out, were found to 

 contain young, eggs and some adults that had starved rather than desert their 

 family. The Martins did not return in 1904 or 1905. 



Birds are subject to a great many accidents, chiefly by flying into objects at 

 night. Telephone and telegraph wires maim or kill thousands, while lighthouses 

 and steeples often cause the ground to be strewn with bodies during migrations. 

 Other accidents are caused by storms, fatigue while crossing large bodies of 

 water, nests falling from trees because of an insecure support, and ground nests 

 being trod upon by man, horses and cattle. 



In the vicinity of cities, towns, villages or farms, one of the most fertile 

 sources of danger to bird life is from cats. Even the most gentle household pet, 

 if allowed its liberty out of doors, will get its full quota of birds during the year, 

 while homeless cats, and many that are not, will average several hundred birds 

 apiece during the season. After years of careful observation, Mr. E. H. Forbush, 

 Mass., state ornithologist, has estimated that the average number of birds killed, 

 per cat population, is about fifty. If a dog kills sheep or deer, he is shot and the 

 owner has to pay damages ; if a man is caught killing a bird, he pays a fine ; but 

 cats are allowed to roam about without restriction, leaving death and destruction 

 in their wake. All homeless cats should be summarily dealt with, and all pets 

 should be housed, at least from May until August, when the young birds are able 

 to fly. 



