212 



Bird - Lore 



will neglect their young for long intervals 

 many times a day, iust to persecute other 

 birds. I have seen them pull out nesting 

 materia! from Wrens' boxes, the entrance to 



which was so small that the}- could only gel 

 their heads in. I have seen them pull to 

 pieces a Robin's nest only to let the material 

 float off on the breeze. I have seen them enter 

 Starlings' nests every time the Starlings left to 

 get food for their young and remain only just 

 long enough to escape detection; and the way 

 they harass my Wrens inclines me to murder- 

 ous thoughts. We are told that besides the 

 birds of prey, Crows, Blue Jays, Grackles and 

 even Catbirds become cannibals at times and 

 eat little nestlings of other birds, but English 

 Sparrows have been known to kill them 

 and I'ust drop them to the ground in what 

 looks like pure wanton cruelty. 



All told, the English Sparrow is a menace in 

 too many ways to deserve considering his pro- 



tection. They are dirty, noisy, quarrelsome, 

 meddlesome and cruel. To be perfectly fair, 

 I will say that for a couple of weeks in the 

 spring they no doubt are a benefit to my elm 

 trees for they eat the little green worm 

 that attacks the leaves; but I am very 

 confident that were the Sparrows absent 

 or more scarce my trees would be quite 

 as well cared for by Warblers and 

 X'ireos, — birds that I see fewer of every 

 \ear. It is the same with Song Sparrows 

 and Bluebirds, both of which I used to 

 have in large numbers. I fear we have 

 got to choose between having English 

 Sparrows with perhaps a few Robins 

 and Grackles on the one hand and hav- 

 ing all the other birds indigenous to the 

 locality on the other; and as this latter 

 c hoice means having perhaps fifty dif- 

 ferent varieties nesting within a stone's 

 throw, and all of them valuable because of 

 the good they do, it has my vote. This means 

 that I must rid the place of the Sparrows as 

 far as possible. I dislike having them shot, 

 fearing some might escape instant death and 

 get away to die slowly; so I was glad to learn 

 of a way to trap them. The knowledge came 

 to me by mere accident but the method seemed 

 to work, and I give it here below. 



Get some of the very large wire rat-traps, 

 the kind that have the funnel-shaped entrance 

 the small end of the funnel pointed inward. 

 Sprinkle on the floor of the trap some grain 

 or crumbs or any suitable bird-food and a 

 little more on the ground leading to the trap. 

 Place it where the birds will see it and if you 

 have the luck mv stable-bov had vou will 



