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Bird-Lore 



instructed to exterminate him and his nests 

 wherever found. My little boy, 8 years old, 

 discovered that the English Sparrows were 

 trying to drive the Martins out of the boxes 

 we had placed for them. They had posses- 

 sion of one box and were closing up the 

 hole so that the Martins could not enter, but 

 leaving it just wide enough for themselves. 

 He climbed up and tore away their obstruc- 

 tions several times, till they got tired and 

 left. We have not had any since, and the 

 Martins stay with us." 



On this ride of eight miles, all the way 

 between farms and orchards with trees and 

 bushes along the roadside, I saw Kingbirds, 

 Field Sparrows, Vesper Sparrows, Yellow 

 Warblers, Goldfinches, Nuthatches, Rob- 

 ins, Wrens, Doves, Quail with their young, 

 Jays, Brown Thrashers, Flickers, Red- 

 headed Woodpeckers, hundreds upon hun- 

 dreds of Meadowlarks, and others I could 

 not name. 



The remarks of my farmer friend, cor- 

 roborated by my own observations, seemed 

 to me to be very encouraging to all of us 

 who have been trying to speak a word in 

 season as opportunity presented, on behalf 

 of "our feathered friends." — Garrett New- 

 kirk, Los Angeles, Cal. 



Visible Results 



Twenty years ago no birds were more 

 conspicuous along the coast of Maine than 

 the Common and Wilson's Terns. They 

 were to be seen wheeling, splashing, floating 

 about every cove and headland, and their 

 sharp ki-yi-ing was heard in every direc- 

 tion. But during the eighties they dimin- 

 ished steadily and during the nineties they 

 became scarce. Many a time of late years I 

 have sailed the whole distance up the Penob- 

 scot to the head of tide-water without seeing 

 a Tern, and during two full years that I 

 was resident in Eastport, Maine, I never 

 either saw or heard one. This is the more 

 remarkable because, for some months, one 

 summer, I was living within a hundred 

 yards of a natural fishing station for them, 

 and even had I failed to see the birds I must 

 have heard them had any come near. 



This year, however, I have been agree- 



ably surprised to find the Terns once more 

 on the coast. In each of four trips up and 

 down the river I have seen them in consid- 

 able numbers. In one flock I counted over 

 forty birds, and It seemed good to hear their 

 sharp, wild-cry again. 



Judging from their former scarcity and 

 this sudden reappearance, it would seem 

 that the efforts to protect their breeding 

 grounds must have met with some success, 

 and that continued protection would restore 

 the Terns in their old numbers. 



I have seen no Bonaparte's Gulls this 

 season, nor any Herons, nor Loons. Her- 

 ring Gulls have been present in about thei 

 usual numbers and Fish Hawks in small 

 numbers. The latter is a bird well wortli 

 protecting, if merely for the interest it adds 

 to a trip along the coast. A large bird is 

 interesting merely because of its size ; if, 

 like the Osprey, it is not inclined to be shy, 

 is not too particular about its nesting places, 

 and does no harm, it should be encouraged 

 whenever possible. We have but four large 

 land birds that can be called characteristic 

 of the Maine coast — the Bald Eagle, the 

 Raven, the Heron and the Fish Hawk. All 

 of the first three are wary birds ; the Heron 

 is so particular about its nesting sites as to 

 be rather neces'^arily a local bird, and the 

 Eagle and the Raven are so destructive to 

 the island sheep as to be legitimately 

 hunted. But the Osprey, or Fish Hawk, is 

 very properly entitled to all the protection 

 that may be afforded by individuals or socie- 

 ties, and deserves a good word. — Fannie 

 Hardy Eckstorm, Breiver, Me. 



Proposed New English Law 



The English Humanitarian League has 

 prepared a bill, which will soon be intro- 

 duced in Parliament, making it a finable 

 offense for any person to sell or wear any 

 article of dress to which there is attached, 

 securely or otherwise, the plumage, skin, 

 body or any part of the birds named in the 

 bill; the list provided particularly includes 

 the Aigrette, Bird of Paradise, Tern, Kit- 

 tiwake. Kingfisher, Hummingbird, and 

 Impeyan Pheasant. — Fur Trade Re'vieiv 

 for August, 1901. 



