WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



minute beetles upon which the fly-catching birds 

 principally maintain themselves. The cattle-yard, 

 therefore, forms a sort of game preserve for such 

 birds, and many species flock thither. Swallows 

 are hardly ever found except in the vicinity of 

 barns; the cow-bunting receives its name from its 

 habit of constantly associating with cattle ; and the 

 king -bird finds the stable -yard his most profita- 

 ble hunting-ground. Near the habitations of men, 

 small birds also enjoy protection from hawks and 

 owls, which hesitate to venture away from the 

 shelter of the woods, and whose numbers are re- 

 duced, unwisely perhaps, by incessant persecu- 

 tion." 



The logic of the case is simple : birds will as- 

 semble chiefly where food for themselves and their 

 young is in greatest abundance, and where they 

 are least exposed to enemies. These two prime 

 conditions of prosperity, with many favorable 

 concomitants, man's art supplies to the insessorial 

 birds, which, on the other hand, suffer little direct 

 injury from his contact. Yet some species seem 



* In several States of the Union bounties are ojffered, some- 

 times by county authorities, sometimes by game-protective 

 associations, and hundreds of hawks and owls are killed 

 annually. 



208 



