INTRODUCTION xxxix 



As birds are the check nature has put upon insect life, the pro- 

 blem is a grave one. How shall we profit by the good offices of 

 the birds, and prevent the injury they in turn are capable of doing 

 to our crops ? 



In the east Professor Beal has found that birds as a rule prefer 

 wild fruit to cultivated, and are drawn away from the orchard and 

 garden by the cultivation of wild fruit-bearing bushes. In parts of 

 the west the mulberry and elder and pepper are favorite bird foods, 

 and might be useful for such purposes. The question is a large one, 

 however, and can only be settled by patient study and investiga- 

 tion on the part of earnest bird students. 



BIRD PROTECTION. 



BY T. S. PALMER. 



Laws for the protection of birds are necessary even in sparsely 

 settled regions. No place, however remote, is beyond the reach of the 

 market hunter, provided a demand for game or feathers for millinery 

 purposes exists, and prices are sufficient to warrant capture of the 

 birds. Game birds have been shipped by thousands from the states 

 beyond the Missouri River; pelicans, terns, and gulls have been 

 decimated along the gulf coast of Texas; and grebes have been 

 slaughtered on their breeding grounds on distant lakes in the interior 

 of Oregon, all to supply eastern markets. To meet such conditions 

 every western state and territory now has its game law ; but few 

 of these laws protect all the birds within the state, and several of 

 them are capable of being improved and made much more effective. 



From the legislative standpoint birds may be divided into three 

 categories : (1) Game birds, such as quail and ducks, which are 

 hunted at stated seasons for food or sport. (2) Non-game birds, such 

 as thrushes and gulls, which are valuable as insect destroyers or 

 scavengers, and hence are protected throughout the year. (3) Inju- 

 rious species, such as the English sparrow and the great horned 

 owl, which are given no protection. Under the definition framed 

 by the Committee on Protection of Birds of the American Orni- 

 thologists' Union, game birds are restricted to four or five well 

 marked groups : the Anatidse, comprising ducks, geese, and swans ; 

 the Rallidse, including rails, coots, and gallinules ; the Limicolae, or 

 shore birds in general ; the Gallinse, including quails, pheasants, 

 grouse, and wild turkeys ; and (in some states) the Columbse, in- 

 cluding wild pigeons and doves. All other birds are classed as 



