204 



Bird - Lore 



THE THRASHER IN MOLTING TIME 

 Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith 



of the ground inside the so-called cat-proof fence is confined to accredited 



adult bird-students admitted by personal card. To carry out the purpose of the 



place, there must be a degree of quiet that 

 cannot be had in a semi-public resort. 

 Neither is general bird photography 

 allowed; birds can be disturbed and 

 driven from their haunts by rearranging 

 the surroundings of their nests as surely 

 as by shotguns or egg-collectors. 



The record of birds seen in 191 7 was 

 as follows: Species seen, 147. Species 

 nesting in Sanctuary, 24 — with 102 indi- 

 vidual nests, as listed below: Robin, 22; 

 Wrens, 13; Song Sparrow, 13; Field 

 Sparrow, 11; Catbird, 8; Brown Thrash- 

 ers, 5; American Goldfinches, 2; Cedar 

 Waxwing, i; Bluebirds, 2; Maryland 

 Yellow- throats, 3; Blue- winged Warbler, 

 I ; Towhee, 3 ; Great-crested Fly-catcher, 

 i; Chat, i; Black-billed Cuckoo, 2; 

 Phoebe, i ; Wood Pewee, i ; Flicker, 



4; Rose-breasted Grosbeak, i; Screech Owl, i; Red-eyed Vireo, 2; Chimney 



Swift, 2; Quail, i covey of 7. 



One-hundred and thirty birds killed by natural causes were brought in by 



children. Permission having been given 

 us by the State Commission of Fish and 

 Game to retain these birds, they were 

 mounted by the warden, who is a 

 taxidermist, for the museum, and dupli- 

 cates kept as "skins" for exchange. 



If this great annual loss of bird-life 

 could be more frequently saved from 

 waste by this method, it would be pos- 

 sible to form small collections for school 

 study without taking the life of a bird. 



The individual birds and mammals 

 taken in the Sanctuary are as follows (we 

 have a state permit to destroy any bird 

 that is detrimental to the Sanctuary), 

 during 1917-1918: 



English Sparrows, 269; European 

 THE THRASHER THAT WINTERED Starlings, 542. Thcsc two specics dcstroy 



Photographed by Wilbur F. Smith the UCStS of mOre USCful birds and COU- 



