266 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



of the species is gone by November 1, but some linger through 

 November even in northern Missouri. After December 1 

 winter numbers only are left. We sometimes read that no bird 

 has suffered so much from persecution by the English Sparrow 

 as the Bluebird. While this may be true in some parts of the 

 country, the Missouri Bluebird has not much to fear from the 

 Sparrows ; it can cope with them successfully. After a pair has 

 once taken possession of a bird-box no English Sparrow is al- 

 lowed to come within ten feet of it. The greatest enemy of the 

 Bluebird is the house cat, which gets most of the young birds 

 the very first day they leave the nest, being careless enough to 

 fly to the ground, but not strong enough to fly up readily 

 when the lurking pet of the household approaches. 



