FiNLEY] ■ NATURAL NESTING SITES 279 



lo. Is the mouth kept always in motion ? • Note a wide opening 

 along the sides of the head behind the gill cover. Does the gill 

 cover move with the movement of the mouth? How does a fish 

 breathe ? 



Subjects for English themes or for recitation — Where do the 

 goldfish naturally occur? Describe the Chinese rivers; describe 

 how the Chinese have preserved fish in their streams; describe 

 how and why the Chinese have changed the colors and form of the 

 goldfish ; how are goldfish esteemed and bred by the Japanese ? 



Natural Nesting Sites As a Factor in Bird 

 Abundance 



C. W. FiNLEY 



That our native wild birds are decreasing in numbers is generally 

 conceded to be true but there is no consensus of opinion as to the 

 dominant factor causing this decrease. The small boy with the 

 gun, promiscuous egg collecting, hunters, cats, snakes, birds of 

 prey, red squirrels, skunks, minks, weasels, migration fatalities, 

 etc., are all important factors, no doubt, but another factor far 

 more important than most of these is the removal and destruction 

 of the natural nesting sites of many of our birds. Man in changing 

 his environment takes little or no thought of the welfare of his 

 feathered friends. As a result some of the birds have changed 

 their nesting habits and have thus been well able to cope with the 

 changing situation. Many, however, have not so changed their 

 habits and have suffered as a consequence. This situation is well 

 shown in the case of the prairie chicken, Tympanuchus americanus 

 americanus (Reich.) in Illinois. 



In the summer of 1910 a prairie chicken "survey" was made in 

 this State under the auspices of the State Game Department. The 

 survey was limited to an investigation in ten counties three of 

 which, Coles, Moultrie, and Douglas are in the "Black Prairie 

 Belt" of the State and the others, Effingham, Jasper, Clinton, Clay, 

 Fayette, Marion, and Richland are in the clay prairie region. For 

 eight years prior to the time of investigation the prairie chickens 

 had been protected by a State law and it was the quest of the 

 department to find whether there had been sufficient increase in 

 numbers during this time to justify an ' 'open season' ' on these birds. 



