The Audubon Societies 



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way or another, is not the "sudden death" 

 inflicted by the Hawk as good as any? 

 Also, it is not apparent just why it's so 

 unfortunate that the Hawks' prey are the 

 "weak and defenseless young." It is 

 certainly better that the young be captured 

 rather than the parents, and better that 

 they should be defenseless, else a battle 

 would ensue each time the Hawk captured 

 its prey. 



Judging by the writer's own experience, 

 the account related by Mr. Forbush of the 

 destruction and driving away of birds 

 near his home by a pair of Sharp-shinned 

 Hawks is highly unusual. Most of the 

 Hawks' hunting is done at some distance 

 from the nest, and I have always found 

 small birds abundant in the vicinity. 



In most parts of the eastern United 

 States this species is almost a rare bird in 

 the nesting season, and for this reason the 

 breeding birds can do little harm to farm- 

 ers in general. The discovery of the nest 

 of this little Hawk is an event to delight 

 the heart of the bird student, as this gives 

 one an opportunity to become intimate 

 with the species that can be gained in no 

 other way. 



While it is too much to expect the aver- 

 age farmer or sportsman to lose any oppor- 

 tunity of destroying the Sharp-shinned 

 Hawk, let nature-lovers personally give 

 it the same protection t^hat they give to 

 other beautiful and interesting forms of 

 life. — W. DeW. Miller, New York 

 City. 



Our Duty to Our Bird Tenants 



Editor Bird-Lore: I noticed in our 

 bird magazine, not long since, the seem- 

 ingly kind offer of free leaflets, on "how 

 to attract the birds to our homes. " On top 

 of this offer I put the following parable: 

 "Several small children were playing 

 in front of a lady's house. She, being a 

 lover of little ones, persuaded them to 

 come into her yard to play. Then through 

 some home duty, she was called into her 

 house. Soon terrible screams caused 

 her to rush out again. What a sight met 

 her vision! On the ground bleeding; and 



torn of clothes and flesh lay two of the 

 little ones, over them growling and snap- 

 ping, stood the next-door neighbor's 

 bull-dog. He had squeezed himself 

 through a hole in the lady's back-yard 

 fence, which she had neglected to repair. 

 His dislike of children caused the dire 

 calamity. 



The wounds, together with the nervous 

 shock, resulted in the death of one of 

 those helpless, trusting children. That 

 lady, whether she recognized the fact or 

 not, was certainly one of the means to- 

 ward that death. She gave those little 

 ones the impression that her yard was not 

 only a pleasant spot, but also a safe place 

 to stay. Her thoughtless neglect to first 

 make it safe before inviting in the children 

 resulted in that terrible pain and that 

 death." 



For eight years, I have had the oppor- 

 tunity, possessed by few, of studying 

 bird life, and I warn, solemnly warn, our 

 Audubon Society, there is a hole, a very 

 large hole in its back-yard fence, and the 

 birds by thousands are going to their 

 death, through our neglect to first attend 

 to that hole before we attract them to our 

 homes. 



By putting up boxes for nests, by feed- 

 ing the birds, we plainly say to them, " Our 

 yard is a pleasant, safe place to stay. " We 

 are too busy to watch them continually, 

 the result, our little pets suddenly disap- 

 pear altogether, or we come across portions 

 of their mangled forms or bunches of their 

 feathers on our lawns. 



We, in this neighborhood, have abso- 

 lutely no trouble in persuading the birds 

 to come. Our trouble consists in keeping 

 them after they do come. Is seems but 

 natural for them to pass over this well- 

 wooded strip of land bordering on Lake 

 Michigan, when migrating to their summer 

 and winter quarters. When unmolested, 

 they remain weeks with us; many of them 

 decide to stay as long as the weather per- 

 mits. But alas! their decision only means 

 their death through the hole in the fence — 

 cats! 



We are a community of homes, lovers 

 of flowers and birds. Unfortunately every 



