20 THE IMPORTANCE OF BIRD LIFE 



kindred with even more voracious appetites, it 

 is evident that their combined daily toll is enor- 

 mous. 



When compared to that of aquatic birds, the 

 damage done to the fish tribe by such species as 

 the osprey and the kingfisher is slight. It is ap- 

 preciable, however, when we remember that they 

 confine their operations to small bodies of water 

 which of necessity must have a limited aquatic 

 population. Thus, kingfishers carry havoc among 

 the minnows and small fry of lesser waterways 

 and ponds, and therefore no longer receive pro- 

 tection from the law. But, despite their depre- 

 dations, their part in the great balance is as 

 much to spread life as to curtail it. Barren pools 

 are stocked with fish by kingfishers. Although a 

 fish normally will seldom escape an osprey when 

 once gripped in its talons, under sudden stress 

 the hawk will drop it ; if, for instance, he is beset 

 by a swarm of crows or martins, he may be 

 forced to drop his load in order by flight to save 

 himself from persecution. Many isolated ponds 

 and lakes have been stocked by the agency of 

 these birds. 



6 

 Minor Relations 



Although disease sometimes sweeps through 

 a colony of birds, exterminating it to the last 



