Tragedies of the Nest 



233 



washed it with disinfectant. The following day the little fellow was quite 

 active, but refused to take food. I believe it was because he was too old to be 

 fed by a foster parent, because young and more unsophisticated birds uncon- 

 sciously open their mouths to be fed. After several fruitless attempts to feed 

 him various kinds of insects, I decided to take him back to his mother. This 

 I did, and she began feeding him at once. Just what the outcome was I do 

 not know, but when I last located him, he seemed perfectly healthy. Whether 

 the silk thread stitches will cause trouble, or whether Nature will discard them, 

 I do not know. 



Other cases of destruction, such as the disappearance of the nest and eggs 

 of a Brown Thrasher, add more to my list of bird tragedies. This case, I pre- 

 sume, was due to some passer-by, since the nest was close to a public path, 

 and there are always a few individuals whose eyes are pleased with a collection 

 of birds' eggs dangling on a string. 



Although my observations will convey nothing new to the one who studies 

 birds, they record a few more instances of bird tragedies and point out some of 

 the causes. Some of the destructive agencies cannot be overcome, but for that 

 reason we should double our efforts to protect our feathered friends; with 

 interest, care and action, we can vitally aid the birds and, consequently, 

 ourselves and the world in general. 



YOUNG SCREECH OWLS 

 Photographed by C. W. Leister, Ithaca, N. Y. 



