IQ ECONOMIC ZOOLOGY 



Dogs, foxes, minks, etc., destroy some birds, but probably not to a 

 very serious extent; the value of the latter two as rodent destroyers 

 will be discussed later. Some squirrels, especially the red squirrel, 

 destroy considerable numbers of eggs and young birds, but since they 

 also eat insects their economic status is perhaps uncertain. 



Rats and mice do some damage, especially to birds nesting on the 

 ground and about human habitations. Hawks, especially Cooper's 

 and the sharp-shinned varieties, destroy many birds and if recognized 

 as belonging to these destructive species they should be killed. Owls 

 kill some birds, but, as already pointed out, most of them are so valuable 

 as destroyers of rodents that they more than pay for the birds they 

 destroy. 



Crows, jays and shrikes sometimes do considerable damage to 

 the eggs and young of other birds; and one who has seen a shrike 

 empale a sparrow or some other small bird on a thorn and then delib- 

 erately tear it to pieces and eat it will not have much love for the 

 butcher bird. 



Certain snakes are accused of eating birds and bird eggs, but, 

 like the owls, it is probable that most species more than make up 

 for the birds eaten by the destruction of rodent and other animal pests. 



It is seen, then, that the two worst enemies of birds are man and 

 the domestic cat, both of whom could and should be controlled, the 

 former by law, the latter by a marked reduction in numbers if not by 

 extermination. 



Encouragement of Birds. To encourage birds and thereby increase 

 their numbers a number of things may be done, some of which will be 

 briefly noted: i. Forbid their being shot, both in season and out, by 

 adults and by boys, and especially by ignorant foreigners and negroes. 

 Aid in the passage of suitable laws for the protection of all sorts of game, 

 especially birds. Although largely through selfish motives, the sports- 

 men of the country long ago saw the necessity of protecting game birds, 

 and as early as 1791 New York enacted a law protecting certain game 

 birds. Only recently have the farmers begun to see the necessity of 

 stringent game laws to protect birds, and now we not only have state 

 laws but we are beginning to have federal laws, like the McLean Mi- 

 gratory Bird Law that protects migratory birds wherever found, with 

 the idea that a bird that moves from one part of the country to another 

 belongs to the country as a whole and not to any one state where it may 



