BEGINNINGS OF BIRD STUDY 21 



the fever and becomes a devotee of the delightful 

 pastime-study. 



The present widespread interest in birds has 

 aroused strong demand for their adequate protection 

 and produced such organized efforts as the Bureau of 

 Biological Survey, the Audubon Society, game protec- 

 tive associations, and a flood of splendid literature. 

 It has become distinctly unpopular to kill wild birds, 

 except edible birds for food, and that in great moder- 

 ation. A multitude of people enjoy the live bird in 

 the open for its own sake, for its esthetic value, and 

 demand that there shall be birds to enjoy. 



I heard this aspect of the subject forcibly pre- 

 sented at a legislative hearing by a high school prin- 

 cipal. He told how his pupils, many of them, found 

 great delight through the birds. In winter they en- 

 joyed the gulls and ducks about the docks and bays, 

 and spring brought a panorama of new wonders. 

 They watched birds, laughed over their amusing 

 ways, and made them a live topic of thought and con- 

 versation. The gunners were trying to repeal the 

 " Model Law," so as to get a longer season for kill- 

 ing. 



" Gentlemen," exclaimed the teacher, " I want you 

 to realize that we bird-lovers claim just as much 

 right to the birds as the gunners. There are more of 

 us, and we get as much profit and pleasure from the 

 birds in our way as the hunters do in theirs. We 

 insist upon our right to have and enjoy wild birds 



