41 



Some uf tlie native forms of life have, in some respeets, chaiigecl their habits. 

 This isevideneed by the Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Habia ludovicianah.) feeding upon 

 the Colorado Potato Beetle. The destruction in the rice fields of South Carolina 

 caused by the Rice birds — our Bobolink (Z)o^icAo?i2/a; oryzivorus h.). The loss in- 

 flicted in the rice swamps of Louisiana by the Red-winged Blackbird. The dam- 

 age done to the western corn grower by the Bronzed Grackle [Qukcalus qidt^cula 

 ieneus Ridg.) — our common Blackbird. By man's agency the European House 

 Sparrow, or " English Sparrow " {Passer domesticus L. ), was introduced, and, as its 

 numbers increased, it began to assert itself in the struggle for existence. Tlie 

 Bluebird {Sialia sicdis L. ), which had come from the hole in the snag, was driven 

 from her box. The Martin {Progne subis L. ), which, like the Chimney Swift 

 {Chmtura pelcu/iea L. ), formerly nested in hollow trees, left its nesting sites about 

 the house, and even the Eave Swallow {Petrochelidon lunifrons Say.), which, in 

 olden times, fastened its nest to the cliffs, was, in some cases, driven away. The 

 warfare with this aggressive little foreigner still continues, worse some places than 

 others. But it has such surprising powers of reproduction and such unheard of 

 audacity it seems they must soon cover our entire continent. The history of the 

 German Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) in this country illustrates the same persistent 

 and successful struggle for the mastery in our water ways that has been noted of 

 the House Sparrow on the land. 



In time fashion demanded of that which neither man's appetite nor his need 

 for protection had impelled him to take. Her altars were erected and upon them 

 sacrifices of animals — a host innumerable — were offered. Fur bearing animals 

 and bright plumaged birds were most earnestly desired, but even the shells of 

 turtles, the skins of snakes, the teeth of alligators and the pearls of fresh water 

 muscles were acceptable offerings. The extent of the destruction of innocent 

 bird lives alone is ai)[)alling. A few facts may convey some idea of this. Among 

 the items of one auction sale in London were 6,000 Birds of Paradise; 5,000 Ini- 

 peyan Pheasants; .'300,000 assorted skins from India; 400,000 Humming birdsi 

 One dealer in 1887 sold no loss than 2,000,000 bird skin.v ' It is probable not les^ 

 than 5,000,000 birds were re(iuired a year to supply the demand in this country 

 alone when the bird-wearing " craze " was at its height. From information ob- 

 tainable it is certain that hundreds of thousands of birds must have been slain 

 in the United States for the glory of fashion's devotees. To this great number of 

 victims our own State has been, to a greater or less extent, a contributor. Many 

 counties in Indiana were visited by bird hunters. It is said from Indianapolis 

 alone 5,000 birds, prepared for millinery purposes, were shipped in one year. ^ 



1. Lucas. Report U. S. National Museum, 1889, p. 611. 



2. Science. Vol. VII, ISSi',, p. 240. 



