THE SUMMIT OF THE YEARS 



phoebe, or a bluebird, or any other bird, know that 

 its enemies are less bold than itself and dare not 

 venture where it ventures? These birds are all 

 more or less afraid of man and tolerate his presence 

 under protest, and it is probably true that the 

 dangers to which they are exposed in nesting neai 

 us, from cats, rats, mice, and boys, are as great or 

 greater than they would be from wild enemies in re- 

 mote fields and woods. Birds seek the vicinity of man 

 because food in the way of insects, seeds, and fruits 

 is more abundant, and because the shelter which 

 some of them seek is better and more extensive. I 

 think the oriole is attracted by the abundance of 

 nesting material strings and horsehairs; and the 

 swallows for the same reason mud and feathers. 

 All birds instinctively seek to hide their nests, and 

 even porches and sheds and bridges afford cover and 

 hiding for the robins and phoebes, to say nothing 

 of the better foraging upon the lanes and in the 

 garden and the cherry-trees for the robins, and in 

 the air about the buildings for the phcebes. The 

 kingbird likes to be near the beehives, for he is fond 

 of the drones; and the chippy comes to the rose- 

 bush, or the lilac-bush, or the near apple-tree, be- 

 cause she likes crumbs from the table and the meal 

 the chickens leave. I notice that the birds build in 

 or about deserted houses nearly as freely as about 

 those that are occupied. All birds that build in 

 holes and cavities can be attracted by putting up 

 150 



