BIRDS ABOUT OUR HOMES 87 



of bright colored yarn hung up in the bushes was seized upon 

 by the Baltimore Oriole five minutes after it was put out for 

 their use. 



The presence of birds about the home depends, in part 

 at least, on the presence of trees and shrubs. The presence 

 of trees and shrubs depends to a considerable extent on the 

 size of the yard and the density of population. Therefore 

 there are fewer birds in the thickly settled residence sections 

 of a city than there are in the thinly settled districts; more- 

 over, there are usually more about the country, or village 

 home than about the city home. 



The protection afforded by man will attract a greater 

 bird population about our homes than is found along the 

 roadside, or even in the woods thicket. A census of summer 

 birds taken in Lawrence, Kansas, during the summer of 1916. 

 showed a greater number of species and of individuals in the 

 thinly settled residence section of the town than were found 

 along a country road lined with trees and bushes. 



The census was taken by walking along the street and 

 noting the birds to be seen and heard, keeping careful check 

 on both species and on numbers. Approximately the same 

 distance was traveled in each case. This tends to prove that 

 if other conditions are favorable, birds prefer the companion- 

 ship and protection offered by man. 



