28 Wild Bird Guests 



are not numerous enough to constitute a serious 

 danger to bird life. 



Red squirrels are persistent robbers of the 

 nests of small birds, in spite of the fact that this 

 is disputed by certain well-known authorities. 

 That some red squirrels do not have the nest- 

 robbing habit is quite possible if not probable, 

 but the fact remains that as devourers of eggs 

 and young, red squirrels have few if any equals. 

 The first time I ever saw a red squirrel interfere 

 with a bird's nest was many years ago. I was 

 attracted by the frantic cries of a pair of scarlet 

 tanagers which had a nest in a pine tree in the 

 garden. I rushed out to see what the matter was 

 and discovered a red squirrel calmly seated on 

 the edge of the tanager's nest and eating one of 

 the eggs. He held it in his paws as he would a 

 nut and he was losing some of the white which 

 trickled from his jaws. I drove him away but he 

 soon returned and I felt obliged to shoot him 

 the first creature of any kind which I had shot 

 in fifteen years. Since then I have known so 

 many nests to be destroyed by red squirrels that 

 I will not allow one of these animals in my gar- 

 den or in any other place where I am trying to at- 

 tract birds. My friend Frederic H. Kennard, 

 a trained ornithologist and a careful observer, 

 has many times seen red squirrels destroy the 



