122 



HOW WE MAY BEST PAY THE DEBT. 



In the last number of Birds and Na- 

 ture we saw that the debt we owe the 

 birds is by no means a small one, but 

 is really greater than we can hope ever 

 to fully repay. It is a debt of gratitude 

 for the good work the birds do in keep- 

 ing checked the increase of insect life 

 which would surely become a great 

 pest if very numerous ; it is a debt of 

 money value for the fruits and grains 

 and other products of the earth which 

 the birds make possible by eating the 

 insects which eat the plants; it is a 

 debt of love for the pleasure and in- 

 spiration which they bring with each 

 returning springtide, for the courage 

 which their cheerful endurance of all 

 sorts of bad weather inspires. There is 

 one best way to pay the debt, and that 

 way is to take such a lively interest in 

 the birds that we shall want to know 

 all about their lives and as much as we 

 can learn about the language they 

 speak and the thoughts they have. 

 When we have such an interest in them 

 we shall not want to kill them, but we 

 shall do what we can to make them 

 love us and trust us so they will no 

 longer want to fly away when we come 

 near them. 



We shall be paying the debt we owe 

 to the birds when we try to make 

 friends with them, for there is nothing 

 greater or better than true friendship, 

 nothing that counts for more where 

 friends are so greatly needed. Our 

 first efifort at making friends with the 

 birds is usually to give them some- 

 thing to eat, forgetting or not know- 

 ing that what is best for us may not be 

 good for them. After we have watched 

 them getting their own meals we shall 

 know what each bird likes best, and 

 then, instead of frightening them away 

 with food that they cannot eat, we shall 

 draw them to us by offering them what 

 they like best. 



We may think that we shall be able 

 to learn all about the birds if we can 

 get them into a cage and study them 

 there. But birds are not free to do 



what they want to do when they are 

 caged up, and there are many interest- 

 ing things about them that we shall 

 never know if we study only the caged 

 ones. What we want to know is the 

 bird just as he is as a free bird in the 

 fields and woods. We shall not be pay- 

 ing much of the debt if we cage him 

 up even to study his habits. 



What we need the most is the most 

 valuable to us. What the birds need 

 most is a place where they can live and 

 raise their young with the least danger. 

 All birds are surrounded by their nat- 

 ural enemies, which are sure to kill a 

 great many of them, but with the addi- 

 tion of cats, rats and human beings in- 

 tent upon killing them they seem to 

 have a poor chance of life. Then if we 

 can provide a place or places where 

 these enemies will be less sure to get 

 them and their eggs or young, we shall 

 be paying the debt we owe in the great- 

 est measure possible. Can we provide 

 any such safe retreats? I think we 

 can. Your own door yard may be 

 made such a retreat. Banish all cats 

 and dogs who love bird flesh. See to 

 it that stray cats and dogs are in dan- 

 ger of their lives on your lawn or in 

 your yard. Let every boy know that 

 the birds on your premises nuist not 

 be disturbed in any way. Instead of 

 carefully trimming out all the tangles 

 of the vines and branches remember 

 that such places are where the birds de- 

 light to build their nests. Put up bird 

 boxes and houses for the martins, 

 wrens, swallows and bluebirds and 

 keep the English sparrows out of them. 

 Make it easy for the birds while they 

 arc feeding their young. In short, 

 give the birds which prefer your yard 

 a little attention and you will soon be 

 on friendly terms with them and they 

 will many times repay any trouble you 

 may put yourself to for their sakes. 

 Any study of the birds is not wasted 

 time, but time profitably spent. 



Lynds Jones. 



