CAUSES FOR THE DECREASE OF SONG BIRDS 11 
hours. But the benefits rendered extend over the 
whole season or year, and elude the observation of most 
people. An owl may catch a thousand mice in a year, 
and the farmer does not know that there is an owl 
within a mile of his place, but let the owl catch a stray 
pullet and he is at once sentenced to be shot without 
investigation. 
The dog and the cat, on the other hand, are held in 
much higher esteem than they deserve. In the city, 
nine dogs out of every ten are a nuisance, and consti- 
tute an element of danger to the inhabitants. 
In the country, at least every other dog lives on 
bread he never earned and is nothing but a worthless 
Ishmaelite, whose teeth and claws are against every 
creature, from the moose in the forest to the mouse in 
the meadow. 
CAUSES OF DECREASE IN BIRD LIFE AS GIVEN IN 
WwW. T. HORNADAY’S REPORT.! 
Of the series of one hundred and ninety reports now 
before us, about 80 per cent declare a decrease in bird 
life and state the causes therefor. The list of destruc- 
tive agencies now operating against our birds is a long 
one, and it is interesting to note the number of oberv- 
ers who complain of each. The figures given below 
show the number of observers who have reported each 
1 This and other extracts from Mr. W. T. Hornaday’s report on 
‘‘The Destruction of our Birds and Mammals”’ are taken from his 
report as published by the New York Zodlogical Society with the per- 
mission of the author. 
