The Love Element In Bird Protection 141 



and dog fanciers and swine growers have a certain 

 interest in the creature that occupies their thought 

 and monopolizes their activities ; but I fancy that 

 none of them would care to be reckoned the ac- 

 tual lover of the creature they care for, while on 

 the other hand those who care for birds are proud 

 to be known as bird-lovers. A very learned and 

 somewhat famous educator once wrote me offer- 

 ing the chair of nature study in a school of which 

 he was president and the letter went on to state 

 that people who ought to know, had recommended 

 me as an accomplished ornithologist. I wrote 

 right back and said that there must be some mis- 

 take, I was no ornithologist at all, never had 

 claimed to be anything of the kind, and I was glad 

 to be able to state that there was nothing in my 

 past suggestive of King Herod being only a bird- 

 lover. 



Just as people are constantly asking you if you 

 happen to know ten lines of poetry what is your 

 favorite poem, so people are always asking me 

 what is my favorite bird. The question puts me 

 in the position of a person with a big family being 

 asked which is the favorite child. It being more 

 or less embarrassing, I have invariably tried to 

 side-step it and even now I think I'll have to do 

 the "Lady or the Tiger." There are Mourning 

 Doves and Bronze Grackles ; each has had a large 

 place in my heart which is the dearest dear, you 



