ii6 Wild Birds. 



Hawks from an early period, the birds are not only protected by law, but are offered 

 every inducement to make them feel at home.' When a dead tree containing a nest is 

 blown down the owner of the land will sometimes erect a tall pole, with a carriage wheel 

 laid flat on top. The birds readily accept the new wheel of fortune, which becomes 

 their home. 



In selecting a bare tree or a wheel on top of a pole the hawk makes a nice choice, for 

 owing to its great extent of wing, as with the eagle, it is convenient to have the path to> 

 the nest free from obstructions. 



When an Osprey loses its mate its actions seem to depend on its character. A case is 

 reported where two birds were seen to pair on the second day after each had lost a mate,, 

 while another who was bereft by a stroke of lightning, which destroyed both the nest 

 and the sitting bird, is said to have lingered about the spot for the remainder of the 

 summer, and to have even returned the ne.xt year still unmated to his solitary vigil. ^ 



The diet of an insectivorous bird is extremely varied at all times, depending much 

 upon the locality and the season of the year. While a few kinds of insects may be avoided 

 because of a repugnant odor or taste, they capture as a rule whatever comes in their 

 way. The Robin commonly brings to its nest grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, and 

 angleworms, because in its customary manner of search it finds and is able to secure these 

 forms in abundance. The Kingbird, which takes most of its prey on the wing, discovers a 

 far greater variety. When certain species of insects are abundant they are often eaten 

 by many birds who under ordinary conditions would never touch them. Thus during a 

 plague of Rock}' Mountain locusts which visited the Western States, these insects are 

 reported to have been eaten b_v nearly every bird in the region, and to have served 

 as a staple for most of the species. Birds of prey such as the smaller hawks and 

 owls devoured them eagerly. The food habits of most birds are e.xceedingly plastic 

 and liable to sudden change under the spur of necessit3^ 



A good illustration of a change in feeding habits has been recently given.' It appears- 

 that the Rhinoceros-bird {Bupliaga crytJirixpyncha) was until lately regarded as so valuable a 

 scavenger that it was accorded special protection by law in British East Africa. Its habit 

 was to feed on the ticks and other parasites which infest wild and domestic animals. " Since 

 the cattle plague," says Captain Hinde, " destroyed the immense herds in Ukambani, and 

 nearly all the sheep and goats were eaten during the late famine, the birds, deprived of 

 their food, have become carnivorous, and now any domestic animal not constanth- watched 

 is killed by them. Perfectly healthy animals have their ears eaten down to the bone, 

 holes torn in their backs and in the femoral regions." The new conditions introduced by 

 man have thus converted a useful animal into a dangerous pest. 



^ For an intere^titiL; account of the nesting hatiits of the (Js}ircy sec Forest ami SIrcain , fnly 7, 1900. 

 '^ 'J'Jic Osprey, vol. ii,, ]i. 50. 

 ^Nature, vol. l.vii., p. 3G6, lyoo. 



