No. 4.] 



DECREASE OF BIRDS. 



439 



Some reports come from closel}^ populated regions, where 

 many causes operate to destro}' or drive out the birds ; 

 others come from more sparsely })eo})led regions, where the 

 birds and their natural enemies are not so nmch interfered 

 with. These personal or environmental differences tend to 

 produce contradictory reports. Where there is conflicting 

 testimony, it must be carefully Aveighed, and all contradic- 

 tions considered by the one who has to render the final ver- 

 dict. In this, the evidence of those experts who for years 

 have ke})t careful notes of the number of birds seen should 

 have the most weight. 



A SiBiMARY OF Reports, by Couxties. 

 Below is a summary, by counties, of the reports regard- 

 ing the gain or loss in numbers of birds in the State for 

 the past ten to forty years. The (questions asked were : — 



f 



+ + 



-hf' 





^^ 



Map of Maasachuaetts, marked to show the localities from which reiiorts li;ive 

 been received. 



1. Are birds decreasing in your locality, county, or in the 

 State generally ? 



2. How do their numbers compare with those of ten years 

 ago? Three-fourths as many, one-half, one-third, or do they 

 reniuin about the same ? 



3. Has the decrease (if any) Ix'on contiiminii: for twenty, 

 tliirty or forty years, or longer? 



