﻿54 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  which 
  she 
  was 
  carry 
  mg 
  away 
  to 
  her 
  nest, 
  and 
  on 
  examining 
  the 
  victim 
  

   I 
  found 
  it 
  was 
  a 
  Red-winged 
  blackbird 
  fully 
  fledged 
  which 
  the 
  Bittern 
  had 
  

   speared 
  through 
  the 
  side 
  with 
  her 
  daggerlike 
  beak. 
  There 
  is 
  little 
  doubt 
  

   that 
  the 
  callow 
  young 
  of 
  our 
  perching 
  birds 
  are 
  devoured 
  by 
  numerous 
  

   flesh-eating 
  species. 
  The 
  mortality 
  among 
  eggs 
  is 
  even 
  greater 
  than 
  

   among 
  the 
  nestlings. 
  Many 
  species 
  of 
  otherwise 
  inoffensive 
  birds 
  become 
  

   egg-eaters 
  during 
  the 
  nesting 
  season. 
  Blackbirds, 
  cuckoos, 
  catbirds 
  

   and 
  wrens 
  invade 
  their 
  neighbors' 
  nests 
  and 
  destroy 
  their 
  treasures. 
  

   Crows 
  and 
  jays 
  are 
  probably 
  the 
  worst 
  destroyers 
  of 
  eggs 
  and 
  nestlings 
  and 
  

   I 
  have 
  seen 
  the 
  Crow 
  on 
  so 
  many 
  occasions 
  in 
  this 
  nefarious 
  business 
  that 
  

   I 
  doubt 
  if 
  I 
  could 
  ever 
  consent 
  to 
  regard 
  him 
  as 
  a 
  reputable 
  citizen. 
  The 
  

   Cowbird 
  is 
  fully 
  as 
  noisome 
  a 
  pestilence 
  from 
  the 
  standpoint 
  of 
  bird 
  pro- 
  

   tection, 
  for 
  every 
  young 
  Cowbird 
  is 
  reared 
  at 
  the 
  expense 
  of 
  a 
  whole 
  brood 
  

   of 
  vireos, 
  warblers, 
  finches 
  or 
  some 
  other 
  song 
  bird. 
  

  

  Among 
  the 
  fourfooted 
  enemies, 
  next 
  after 
  the 
  cat, 
  I 
  should 
  place 
  

   the 
  red 
  squirrel. 
  One 
  sumimer 
  while 
  sojourning 
  at 
  a 
  lakeside 
  camp 
  I 
  saw 
  

   a 
  pair 
  of 
  red 
  squirrels 
  succeed 
  in 
  destroying 
  every 
  robin's, 
  flicker's, 
  

   vireo's 
  and 
  warbler's 
  nest 
  in 
  the 
  grove. 
  Three 
  pairs 
  of 
  robins 
  in 
  the 
  

   vicinity 
  of 
  our 
  camp 
  had 
  failed 
  to 
  raise 
  any 
  young 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  

   August, 
  when 
  I 
  witnessed 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  nest. 
  The 
  poor 
  

   birds 
  had 
  evidently 
  decided 
  to 
  try 
  their 
  fate 
  high 
  on 
  the 
  limb 
  of 
  an 
  elm 
  

   tree 
  which 
  stood 
  in 
  front 
  of 
  our 
  cabin. 
  One 
  day 
  I 
  heard 
  their 
  battle 
  cry 
  

   and 
  came 
  upon 
  the 
  scene 
  just 
  in 
  time 
  to 
  see 
  the 
  squirrel 
  dislodged 
  by 
  the 
  

   robin's 
  flerce 
  attack 
  and 
  fall 
  a 
  distance 
  of 
  50 
  feet 
  to 
  the 
  ground, 
  but 
  this 
  

   did 
  not 
  discourage 
  him 
  sufficiently, 
  for 
  later 
  in 
  the 
  day 
  I 
  saw 
  him 
  make 
  a 
  

   sudden 
  dash 
  up 
  the 
  limb 
  and 
  seize 
  an 
  egg 
  in 
  his 
  mouth 
  but 
  drop 
  it 
  sud- 
  

   denly 
  as 
  if 
  afraid 
  of 
  another 
  attack. 
  A 
  pair 
  of 
  flickers 
  had 
  built 
  their 
  

   nest 
  in 
  a 
  stump 
  near 
  the 
  camp 
  and 
  the 
  young 
  were 
  apparently 
  nearly 
  half 
  

   grown 
  before 
  the 
  squirrels 
  discovered 
  them, 
  but 
  the 
  peculiar 
  notes 
  of 
  the 
  

   young 
  birds 
  attracted 
  their 
  attention 
  and 
  the 
  squirrels 
  after 
  investigating 
  

   the 
  hole 
  killed 
  the 
  young 
  birds 
  one 
  by 
  one, 
  the 
  last 
  victim 
  being 
  so 
  large 
  

   that 
  the 
  squirrel 
  could 
  scarcely 
  drag 
  it 
  from 
  the 
  nest, 
  but 
  he 
  succeeded 
  

  

  