IQO 



Bird - Lore 



A Resolution 



May 24, 1909. 

 American Museum of Natural His- 

 tory, New York. 



Dear Sir: I have the honor to inform 

 you that at the meeting of the Trustees of 

 The American Museum of Natural History, 

 held May 10, 1909, the following resolution 

 relative to the protection of birds, was 

 unanimously adopted: 



Resolved, That in view of the decrease 

 in the numbers of our native birds through 

 their destruction by millinery and market 

 hunters, by foreigners, by sportsmen, and 

 indirectly by the advance of civilization 

 in claiming their haunts, and further, in 

 view of the great and growing economic 

 value of birds as increasing population 

 creates added demands for their services as 

 the destroyers of noxious insects, rodents, 

 the seeds of weeds and as scavengers, and 

 also because of the rapidly developing 

 interest in birds as "the most eloquent 

 expression of nature's beauty, joy, and 

 freedom," the Trustees of The American 

 Museum of Natural History heartily 

 endorse the movement of the Audubon and 

 Zoological Societies designed to protect 

 birds and to diffuse a knowledge of their 

 economic and esthetic value to man. 

 Very respectfully yours, 



J. Hampden Robb, Secretary. 



Mr. William Dutcher, National Asso- 

 ciation of Audubon Societies, 141 Broad 

 way, New York Citv. 



A Plea for the Sharp-shinned Hawk 



The writer wishes to enter a mild protest 

 against certain parts of the leaflet on the 

 Sharp-shinned Hawk recently ])uliiislu'd 

 by the National Association. In discussing 

 the economic status of this species, it seems 

 to me that the destruction of song birds 

 should be considered quite apart from 

 the destruction of poultry. The former is 

 of interest chiefly to the bird-lover, the 

 latter to the raiser of fowls. 



The destruction of small birds, by which 

 the Sharp-shinned Hawk mainly exists, 

 does not seem imporlant from an economic 



point of view, for their numbers cannot in- 

 crease beyond a certain limit, except by 

 the food supply. The present abundance 

 of small birds is probably at about this 

 limit. 



It is a well-known fact that every species 

 of bird is constantly tending to increase 

 at such a high rate that it is necessary 

 that there be some check to their numbers. 

 This check is found largely in the shape of 

 predatory animals, such as Hawks, and 

 if these were exterminated, large numbers 

 of small birds would have a difTicult time 

 obtaining food and many would doubtless 

 perish from starvation. The Robin may 

 be used as an illustration of the rapid rate 

 at which birds tend to multiply. Every 

 year each pair of Robins tries to raise two 

 broods of four young each. To be conser- 

 vative say that the yearly average of each 

 pair is only four young. At this rate there 

 would be, at the end of the tenth year, 

 118,098 Robins, and at the end of the 

 twentieth vear over 20,000,000,000, all the 

 progeny of one pair. 



No doubt it is necessary and right in 

 order to secure the protection of the law for 

 the "beneficial" Hawks, to definitely point 

 out to law-makers and farmers which the 

 bird-eating species are. But it does not 

 seem right that the opportunity should be 

 used to endeavor to prejudice bird-lovers 

 against the Sharp-shinned Hawk by calling 

 it a murderer and a "convicted felon." 



The Red-shouldered and other mouse- 

 eating Hawks are just as much murderers 

 as the Sharp-shinned Hawk, and it seems 

 to the writer that unless the"human critics 

 of the Hawk happen to be vegetarians 

 thev are worse in this respect than the 

 Hawk. The author of the leaflet says: 

 "Its trade is battle, murder and sudden 

 death, and unfortunately the greater 

 number of its victims are the weak and 

 defenseless young of game birds and 

 poultry, and the beautiful and useful 

 songsters of field, farm, grove, orchard 

 and forest. " 



This certainly makes it look very black 

 against the Hawk at first sight, but when 

 we reflect that the wild birds taken by tlie 

 Sharp-shin must necessarily perish in one 



