ENCOURAGING BIRDS AROUND THE HOME 
aged, and when possible the chimneys 
left open at the top, and so constructed 
as to admit of their ready occupancy. 
THE ENEMIES OF THE BIRDS 
Of bird enemies, cats are undoubtedly 
the worst, and maudlin sentiment should 
not be wasted upon them, for they are 
incorrigible. The plain, ordinary alley 
cat should be eliminated when possible, 
and they make fine fertilizers when 
planted about the roots of one’s favorite 
grape-vine. Cat- possessing neighbors 
should be warned that if their cats are 
caught trespassing they will be turned 
into fertilizer. 
Red squirrels are next on the list and 
should be shot on sight, but I have never 
found the depredations of the gray squir- 
rel to warrant similar treatment. Bird- 
chasing dogs are a nuisance and should 
be restrained during the breeding season. 
Skunks and foxes should both be dis- 
couraged, and the wily raccoon and elu- 
sive weasel also, if perchance they are 
found to lurk about. 
Of the hawks, the cooper and sharp- 
shinned hawks should both be shot at 
179 
sight, while of the owls, the great horned 
is incapable of reform, The little screech- 
owl is almost always beneficial on ac- 
count of the numbers of mice it often de- 
stroys, but individual screech-owls are 
often destructive to bird life. 
Crows and jays will bear watching. 
There seem to be good crows and jays, 
and then again individuals among them 
of exceeding bad habits, as many a long- 
suffering bird family knows to its sorrow. 
In many places the English sparrows 
are pests and should be shot and trapped 
relentlessly. They are pretty canny 
birds, and if once they learn you are af- 
ter them with a gun they quickly desert 
the premises. If, owing to surrounding 
conditions, gunning for them seems un- 
desirable, traps may be used with telling 
effect. There are several kinds in use in 
this country. 
Last, but not least, the black snake 
should be killed whenever found; its 
large size, great activity, tree-climbing 
propensities, and taste for eggs and small 
birds have fairly won for it the reputa- 
tion of being one of the birds’ deadliest 
enemies. 
Photograph by George Shiras, 3rd 
BIRDS CAN TAKE THEIR OWN PICTURES (SEE PAGES IOI-104) 
After trying vainly for more than an hour to photograph comparatively tame buzzards 
and vultures, Mr. George Shiras, 3rd (the inventor of flashlight photography of wild animals 
and birds, and of a method by which animals and birds take their own photographs), aban- 
doned the blind behind which he had been concealed and set out his automatic camera with 
string and bait. On returning in about half an hour he found the bait gone, and the develop- 
ment of the plate some hours later revealed the above picture of a black Florida vulture and 
tame buzzards. 
ZINE, 
Consult numerous articles by Mr. Shiras in the NationaL GeocrapHic MaGa- 
