BIRDS OF NEW YORK 55 



and let it drop to the ground with a deep gash bit through the base of 

 its skull. 



Weasels are also a dangerous foe to birds. This fierce little pirate 

 destroys a large number of those species which nest or roost upon the 

 ground. Sometimes he attacks birds of large size. On one occasion I saw 

 in the snow the marks of a desperate struggle which had taken place between 

 a weasel and a cock grouse. The weasel had sprung upon him as he was 

 sleeping on the hillside, and they had rolled and struggled down the hill 

 together until the grouse, owing to the favoring slope, finally shook off 

 his assailant by his powerful wing-strokes and left a large mouthful of 

 hackle feathers in the snow as the price of liberty. Minks, martens and 

 skunks are natural enemies to the birds, but are not as destructive as the 

 weasel, unless we except the marten which is largely arboreal in habits and 

 conseqtiently wrecks many a dainty household which escapes terrestrial 

 enemies. 



Among our native reptiles the black snake is undoubtedly a dreaded 

 enemy to birds, for it attacks their nests both in trees and on the ground; 

 and the snapping turtle is destructive to ducklings, young rails, coots 

 and bitterns. Like the snapping turtle some fishes, notably the pike, 

 pickerel and bowfin often rise from the grassy shallows and drag down 

 the young of ducks and marsh birds and even capture the agile Marsh wren 

 as it trips along the grasses at the surface of the water. My friend, Mr 

 Foster Parker, of Cayuga, informs me that Marsh wrens have decreased 

 remarkably along the marshes of Seneca river since the bowfin, or "dog- 

 fish," became abundant in those waters. 



Wc must not forget the parasites, both external and internal, which 

 prey upon birds and often destroy their life directly, especially young birds 

 in the nest. I have noticed many instances in which phoebes, swallows, 

 goldfinches and woodpeckers lost all or a part of their young through the 

 attacks of lice which swarmed about their nests. Every species of bird 

 has a louse which specially afflicts it. Ticks often fasten themselves on the 

 heads of young grouse and gradually absorb their life. Many birds, like the 

 Meadowlark, are the hosts of tapeworms and other abdominal parasites. 



