COMMON BIRDS OF TOWN AND COUNTRY 
By HENRY W. HENSHAW 
FORMERLY CHIEF OF THE U. S. BionocicaL, SurvEY 
With Illustrations from Paintings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes 
ROM very ancient times birds have 
appealed to the interest and imagi- 
nation of mankind. They have 
furnished themes for innumerable poets, 
have appeared in many guises in primi- 
tive religions, and by their flight inspired 
the predictions of the soothsayers of old. 
Even in these modern and prosaic times 
birds still continue to interest mankind, 
and the last decade has witnessed a 
marked strengthening of the sentiment 
toward them. 
The present interest is direct and per- 
sonal, and today hundreds of thousands 
of men and women in various parts of 
the country, old as well as young, are em- 
ploying much of their leisure in famil- 
iarizing themselves with the birds of 
their respective localities. In following 
birds afield, in studying their habits, and 
listening to their songs, they bring them- 
selves into close touch and sympathy 
with Nature and add new zest to life—a 
zest, be it noted, which enriches without 
harm to any creature. 
Would that the same could be said of 
the sportsman who almost invariably is 
at heart a nature lover, though the primi- 
tive instinct to kill is uppermost. Many 
sportsmen, however, who formerly fol- 
lowed wild creatures only to kill, have 
abandoned the use of rifle and shotgun, 
and today are finding greater pleasure in 
studying and photographing their former 
quarry than they did in pursuing it with 
murderous intent. A real interest in wild 
life leads naturally to a love of Nature 
in all her varied manifestations, and this, 
in all lands and under all circumstances, 
remains a source of lasting pleasure. 
A love of birds from the esthetic side, 
however, is of comparatively recent de- 
velopment and had little place among 
primitive peoples, who utilized birds 
chiefly in two ways—for food and for 
ornament. Feathers, especially, appealed 
to them for purposes of adornment, and 
this barbaric taste has not only survived 
among civilized races, but in recent years 
has developed to an extent which threat- 
ens the very existence of many of the 
most beautiful and notable species of 
birds in various parts of the world. No 
region is too remote, no forests too deep, 
no mountains too high to stay the plume- 
hunter, stimulated by the golden bribe 
offered by the tyrant Fashion. 
Happily, America has taken the lead 
in an attempt to restrict this craze for 
feather adornment, which means nothing 
less than the death of millions of beauti- 
ful and useful creatures. Nor are evi- 
dences wanting that other countries as 
well have recognized the gravity of the 
situation and are preparing to pass pro- 
tective laws similar to those recently 
enacted in this country. 
BIRDS ARE THE FARMERS’ MOST EFFICIENT 
ALLIES 
While birds appeal to the regard and 
interest of man from the esthetic side as 
no other creatures do, there is another 
and even more important point of view, 
and it is no doubt true that of late years 
interest in birds has been greatly stimu- 
lated by the discovery that they possess 
an economic value. 
The study of the economic side of 
bird life and of the relations of birds to 
the farmer and horticulturist has been 
greatly stimulated in the United States 
by Federal aid and supervision, and in no 
other country in the world have the ac- 
tivities of birds been so carefully investi- 
gated with reference to their practical 
bearing. 
Under the Biological Survey of the 
Department of Agriculture, for instance, 
is a corps of trained men, who study the 
food of birds by careful examination of 
the stomachs of specimens killed for sci- 
entific purposes. The information thus 
gained is supplemented by observations 
