THE OOLOGIST 



301 



The female sits closely on these and 

 seldom leaves the nest except for food 

 and water. The male bird brings her 

 considerable food. In about ten days 

 the eggs hatch and you may be sure 

 the parents are very busy; for they 

 gather many insects with which to 

 feed the young. The young grow 

 rapidly and are soon strong enough 

 to follow the mother about in search 

 of food. It is a pleasing sight to watch 

 a family of these wrens as they fol- 

 low their mother. They, like other 

 babies, quarrel at times and it is then 

 that we hear their cross little scolding- 

 notes; and also the equally cross note 

 of their mother who seems to be rep- 

 rimanding them. We must, though, 

 consider them as gentle little birds 

 and encourage them to live near us 

 tor they are exceedingly beneficial 

 creatures. 



S. S. Dickey. 

 Washington, Pa. 



The Increase and Decrease of Eirds. 

 By John D. Kuser, Bernardsville, X. J. 



One of the great questions in the 

 bird world is: Are birds increasing 

 or decreasing in numbers? There is 

 no doubt that some are rapidly becom- 

 ing extinct, whereas those birds which 

 adapt themselves to civilization are 

 becoming more numerous. In the fol- 

 lowing paragraphs I have taken up 

 the status as to whether, from my ob- 

 servations, I think the different spe- 

 cies of birds are becoming scarcer or 

 more abundant in Bernardsville, in 

 the northern central part of New Jer- 

 sey. 



The following are rapidly increas- 

 ing: Turkey Vultures, Starlings, (a 

 few seen in 1908, in 1909 they were 

 more frequent and several large flocks 

 were seen in 1910, also several nests 

 being recorded in the latter year). 

 English Sparrows, Robins, Bluebirds, 

 Meadowlarks (one heard in mid-win- 



ter), Song and Chipping Sparrows 

 and Chimney Swifts. 



Those which show a steady increase 

 though not so rapid a one as the above 

 mentioned are: Pheasants (about 100 

 of these birds have been annually lib- 

 erated for several years, but it is a 

 question that if no more were let out 

 whether the birds would increase. Sev- 

 eral nests have been recorded), Os- 

 preys, Sparrow Hawks, Orioles, Gold- 

 finches, Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers (ex- 

 cept the red-head, which is rare), 

 Blackbirds, Jays, Crows, Mallards 

 (several pairs of which were liberated 

 a few years ago and there is now a 

 flock of a dozen or more), Great-blue, 

 Black-erowned Night, and Green Her- 

 ons, Flycatchers, Towhees, Red-eyed, 

 Yellow-throated and Warbling Vireos, 

 Black and White, Chestnut-sided and 

 Yellow Warblers, Ovenbirds, Mary- 

 land Yellow-throats, House Wrens 

 (formerly rare, have become more 

 common during the past two years), 

 White-breasted Nuthatches. 



The birds which seem to remain 

 about the same in numbers, neither in- 

 creasing or decreasing, are: Morning 

 Doves, Red-tailed, Red-shouldered, and 

 Marsh Hawks (all of these Hawks 

 are only occasional), Screech Owls, 

 Hummingbirds, Swamp Sparrows, In- 

 digo Buntings, Rough-winged Swal- 

 lows, Cedar Waxwings, Water- 

 thrushes, Catbirds, Chickadees and 

 Wood Thrushes. 



The slowly decreasing birds are as 

 follows: Hawks of the Genus Accip- 

 ter, Cuckoos, Kingfishers, Vesper, 

 Field and Grasshopper Sparrows, 

 Cliff, Tree and Bank Swallows (none 

 of the last named have been seen for 

 two years, but formerly they were oc- 

 casional), Brown Thrashers (only a 

 few seen in 1910 and in 1911 they were 

 even scarcer than in the previous 

 year) and all the Thrushes not al- 

 ready mentioned. 



