'Pauperizing' the Birds 



By HENRY OLDYS 



INTEREST in birds has grown amazingly in recent years. The charm of 

 estabhshing friendly relations with these bright and attractive little crea- 

 tures and of becoming familiar with their pretty ways and varied songs is 

 making an appeal to young and old such as it never did before. Some are con- 

 tent with the old method of scattering a few crumbs on doorstep or window-sill 

 and placing rudely constructed nesting-boxes about the home. Those, however, 

 who are stirred by the always laudable ambition to attain the highest success 

 possible study carefully the question of catering to the varied tastes of dif- 

 ferent species. On the grounds of these more energetic bird-lovers, providing for 

 the birds is a much less simple matter. Elaborate tables are spread for the 

 feathered guests; certain selected shrubs, which furnish food, nesting-sites, 

 and shelter from enemies, are planted in profusion; nest-boxes of special sizes 

 and types are constructed or purchased and erected at suitable heights and in 

 carefully chosen localities; the pan of water is superseded by the concrete 

 pool; and many other devices of proved service are used to attract avian visi- 

 tors. Especially are these modern methods and contrivances used in the com- 

 munity bird sanctuaries which are beginning to dot the country in increasing 

 numbers. 



That the beneficiaries of all this activity appreciate and respond to such 

 provision for their welfare is plainly evident to anyone who visits one of these 

 private or public bird-havens and observes the throng of birds constantly about 

 food- tray and pool; or who is familiar with certain statistics published by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, which show that while the average 

 density of birds nesting about homesteads in the eastern half of the United 

 States is approximately one pair to the acre, places where the birds find special 

 accommodations have as many as three, five, seven, even twelve, nesting pairs 

 to the acre. And ever before the eyes of those cognizant of the progress of the 

 movement is the remarkable achievement of Herr Graf von Berlepsch, who, 

 on his estate at Witzenhausen, in Thuringia, has induced more than 500 pairs 

 of birds to make their home annually on the 13-acre park surrounding his 

 castle — a bird population of forty pairs to the acre! 



From the standpoint of increasing the birds, the measures taken are un- 

 questionably successful. Let it not be supposed that a greater number in one 

 place implies a decrease elsewhere — in other words, that the excess on tracts 

 where conveniences are supplied is drawn from other areas that are only nor- 

 mally attractive to birds. Birds are very local in their attachments. The same 

 pair, in the absence of interference, will nest year after year in the same spot. 

 And the banding experiments that have been conducted for some years by an 

 energetic organization tend to show the same tenacity as regards their winter 

 homes. Thus, White-throated Sparrows banded on a farm at Thomasville, 



(9) 



