222 The Bobolink 
very effective remedy, but as the bobolinks soon became 
accustomed to them, they too proved ineffectual. 
The turkey-buzzards are very plentiful in the South, 
and an attempt has been made to use them in frighten- 
ing the bobolinks. For this purpose, poles from ten 
to twelve feet high were set up in various parts of the 
rice fields, at the tops of which were small platforms, 
and upon these meat was placed to attract the buzzards. 
These large birds flying about were mistaken by the 
bobolinks for hawks, and for a time this worked 
admirably, but as soon as the birds discovered their 
mistake the buzzards no longer alarmed them. 
The bobolink question in the South is indeed a 
serious one, and the circumstances connected with it, 
though probably natural, are extremely interesting to a 
student of bird life. The bobolinks make havoc in 
the rice fields because man has selected for his own use 
the resting and feeding places which the birds have had 
since before the settlement of the country. If either 
is an usurper itis man. From the early bird history it 
is noted that the habits of the bobolink have remained 
practically the same; namely, the course of migration, 
the food habits, the love for the open meadow where it 
nests, and the points of departure and return to the 
United States are all unchanged. 
When the forests of the Northern States gave place 
