8 OUR NATIVE BIRDS 
for several hours. Need we be surprised that we miss 
the birds under these conditions? 
3. Cats. — All domestic cats catch a bird, whenever 
they can, and many are confirmed bird and nest hunters. 
On the ground, in holes and boxes, in shrubs, and on 
small trees, birds and nests are alike exposed to their 
-attacks. About the only nest a cat cannot reach is 
that of the Baltimore oriole, but should an overbold 
oriole fledgling fall to the ground, before it is wary 
and has mastered the new art of flying, the ever watch- 
ing cats are almost sure to get it. And how many 
young birds fall to the ground out of the nest or from 
their perch ! 
If we consider that many farmers seem to keep about 
as many cats as the farm would support mice, and that 
many city families will, at least, keep a worthless cat, 
if not also a worthless cur, the scarcity of birds need 
not puzzle us. 
I have often wondered if some species of small owl 
could not be domesticated, and displace the cat as a 
mouser. Some bird-lover ought to make careful exper- 
iments with owls for this purpose. 
4. Boys, Collectors, and So-called Bird Students. — My 
experience with boys enables me to say that parents, 
teachers, and other adults are responsible for most of the 
mischief boys commit against birds. They are easily 
turned into bird protectors, as I shall show later. The 
individual with the egg and skin collecting mania, and 
the individual who makes collecting in a settled country 
a business are nuisances. Several periodicals and many 
