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Bird - Lore 





ROBIN AND BLUE JAY FEATHERS, THE WORK OF AN ITALIAN 



AN ITALIAN BIRD-EATER 



Wilbur F. Smith, of South Norwalk, 

 Connecticut, one of the most active game- 

 wardens in the country, tells the story of 

 the photograph reproduced here: 



"A complaint recently came to me that 

 a certain Italian was shooting song-birds. 

 After watching five days I finally caught 

 him shooting a Robin. He worked about 

 his house, and had nine children, all 

 watching for birds; and his gun was 

 always ready. The moment a bird 

 dropped, one of the children ran with it 

 to the house. This happened when I 



saw him shoot the Robin at 7 o'clock in 

 the morning; and when we reached the 

 house the bird was plucked and we could 

 not find the body, but the floor and table 

 were covered with Robins' feathers. He 

 denied everything, saying someone else 

 had brought the feathers there, but I 

 found hidden in the woodpile more than 

 a peck of feathers, most of them Robins', 

 which I later photographed. On the way 

 to town the man told me he knew it was 

 against the law to shoot Robins, but in 

 court he pleaded guilty and was punished. 



