DESTRUCTION AND PROTECTION OF OUR BIRDS. 17 



The sliooting of small insectivorous birds is, of course, wholly 

 illegal, and should be suppressed everywhere as it usually is. The 

 recognition of the Flicker as a game bird is utterly unwarranted. It is 

 one of our most important insectivorous birds and should be rigidly 

 protected, as also the Dove and Killdeer. Careless and unlimited 

 gunning has exterminated the Wild Pigeon and Heath Hen, also 

 apparently the Eskimo Curlew, while the Killdeer, Woodcock and 

 Wood Duck are rapidly going the same route, and Quail are only 

 perpetuated by importing them from elsewhere ! Unless the people 

 wake up to the fact that changed conditions demand less gunning and 

 more restricted gunning our descendants will have nothing to shoot. 



(2) Indirect influences. — Man is so busy making all the money he 

 can from natural resources and unclaimed land that he never stops 

 to consider what effect he is producing on nature. The spread of 

 towns and cities, the establishment of resorts along the whole sea- 

 board, the destruction of forests and draining of swamps all tend to 

 decrease bird-life. Some few species like the Robin take naturally 

 to civilization, but many others are driven away forever. From our 

 shore the Willet, Piping and Wilson's Plovers, Oyster-catcher, Skim- 

 mer, Avocet, Stilt, and other species are gone forever as breeding 

 birds, and are indeed for the most part rare even as stragglers. All 

 crowded out by the summer population of our coast strip and doubtless 

 by the careless gunning of these summer visitors. 



Birds that have disappeared inland are notably the Mockingbird 

 and the Summer Tanager. 



(3) Introduced birds. — The English Sparrow has played an im- 

 portant part in driving various familiar birds away from our towns, 

 such as the House Wren, Bluebird, etc. While the Sparrows are often 

 openly hostile to our native birds, the result is no doubt mainly due 

 to the fact that the Sparrows are resident and retain continual pos- 

 session of all available nesting sites in bird boxes, buildings, etc. They 

 have, so to speak, taken the place of our native birds, for as there is 

 probably only support for a certain number of individual birds in a 

 given area the Sparrows have ousted the native species in the struggle 

 for existence so far as towns are concerned. Not content with the 

 lesson learned from the Sparrow we now have the European Starling 

 increasing rapidly and spreading all over the State. He bids fair to 

 be almost as big a nuisance. So too the English Pheasant is being 

 introduced, carrying with it a disease that is said to be fatal to our 

 native Ruffed Grouse. 



