Editorial 



293 



25trtiHore 



A Bi-Monthly Magazine 

 Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds 



OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDl'BON SOCIETIES 



Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN 



Contributing Editor. MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT 



Published by D. APPLETON & CO. 



Vol. XXIV Published October 1. 1922 No. 5 



SUBSCRIPTION RATES 



Price in the United States, one dollar and fiftv rents a year; 

 outside the United States, one dollar and seventy-five cents, 

 postage paid. 



COPYRIGHTED, 1922, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN 



Bird-Lore's Motto: 

 A Bird in the Bush Is Worth Two in the Hand 



When man takes a hand in regulating the 

 affairs of nature he assumes responsibilities 

 he often finds it difficult consistently to dis- 

 charge. To his misguided efforts, for ex- 

 ample, we owe the presence of the English 

 Sparrow and Starling in this country, and 

 are thereby confronted with feathered race 

 problems which the economist views from 

 one angle, the humanitarian from another. 



When the Sparrows take possession of 

 houses erected for Bluebirds and Martins and 

 deny admission to the rightful tenants; when 

 they crowd our feeding-stands and devour 

 the seed designed for Purple Finches, Juncos, 

 and White-throats, what part should we 

 play? Neither bird is responsible for the 

 presence of the other. The Sparrow does not 

 know that he is a trespasser in our bird- 

 houses and an unbidden guest at our feeding- 

 stands. W 7 hy blame him? 



Let us take another case. With food of 

 many kinds and attractively placed baths, 

 we spare no effort to induce birds to come 

 about our homes. Finches and Sparrows of 

 several species, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers, 

 Chickadees, Jays, and other birds accept our 

 invitation and we welcome them with en- 

 thusiasm. But the Hawk who helps himself 

 to the bountiful supply of food he finds so 

 temptingly assembled in our poultry-yards 

 is shot at the first opportunity. How does 

 the Hawk know that we have not prepared 

 a feast for him as well as for the Juncos and 

 Chickadees? 



We have a friend in Florida who keeps a 

 variety of stands and shelves on his lawn 



filled with an unfailing supply of things birds 

 love, and he is rewarded by visits from 

 hundreds of Cardinals, Jays, Woodpeckers, 

 Chipping Sparrows, Myrtle Warblers, Red- 

 winged Blackbirds, and others who, to his 

 delight, throng the place from morning to 

 night. 



He also has a small pool in which were 

 many goldfish, and they, too, were recipients 

 of his bounty. But one morning only half of 

 them answered the food-call. Day by day 

 their number grew less, and they had nearly 

 all been made away with before a Little 

 Green Heron was found to be the executioner. 

 He was promptly killed, but how did he 

 know that the invitation so cordially ex- 

 tended to other birds did not include him? 



Thanks to an unfailing supply of food, 

 natural and artificial shelter and the pro- 

 tection from feline enemies afforded by a 

 cat-proof fence, birds have become increas- 

 ingly abundant in Hirdcraft Sanctuary. 

 Every summer adds to the known population 

 of nesting species and each winter the flocks 

 of pensioners grow larger. But, as Mrs. 

 Wright tells us in this issue of Bird-Lore, 

 the Sanctuary has become not only a home 

 for harmless birds but a well-stocked hunting 

 ground for prediceous ones. Crows rob the 

 nests of eggs and young; Hawks are de- 

 structive; and last winter numerous raids 

 were made by Shrikes. Is it justifiable to 

 poison Crows and shoot Hawks and Shrikes? 



In all the instances mentioned man is the 

 primary cause for the conditions as related, 

 and he should not shirk his responsibilities. 

 In our opinion the question of humanita- 

 rianism is not the one at issue. If it were, it 

 would certainly be more humane to kill one 

 Hawk than to permit it to murder a dozen 

 little Chickens, and a single Heron may be 

 sacrificed to save a score of goldfish. If, there- 

 fore, responsibility compels us to sit in 

 judgment on these cases, it seems to us that, 

 basing our action on the principles of justice 

 and fair play, and with due regard to the 

 rights of the defendant as compared with 

 those of the aggressor, we should protect our 

 native birds from the English Sparrow; our 

 poultry-yards from marauding Hawks, our 

 fish-ponds from murderous Herons, and make 

 our sanctuaries true havens of refuge. 



