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yet during the breetling season they both feed much upon 

 insects. Outside of the group Raptores, there arc few, if any, 

 completely noxious birds, and even many of the hawks are 

 efficient destroyers of insects. Legislation directed toward 

 the destruction of any kind of birds, excepting the Englisli 

 sparrow, the Cooper's and sharp-shinned hawks, and perhaps 

 the crow, is quite as apt to do harm as good. 



Bird Protection. — Travellers in certain parts of Europe, 

 where the poverty and ignorance of the people have led them 

 to prey upon birds, have remarked on the desolation of a bird- 

 less country. The natural enemies of insects being destroyed, 

 there is no adequate check to the destruction of vegetation by 

 insects, and the beauty of a forest landscape is missing. North 

 America has been richly provided with a native laird fauna ; but 

 within the last few years it has become plain that most of our 

 species are undergoing reduction, and many are near extermi- 

 nation. Careful inquiries recently made indicate that during 

 the past fifteen years the number of our common song-birds 

 has been reduced one-half, and the number of certain birds 

 prized as food or ornament has been reduced to one-fourth. At 

 the present rate, extermination of many species will occur dur- 

 ing the lives of most of us. The causes of this destruction of 

 birds are numerous. The most efficient cause is the shotgun 

 in the hands of l)oj's and thoughtless men and of those who 

 gather bird skins to meet the demand for bonnet " ornaments." 

 Very great destruction is also caused by egg-collectors, who 

 annually gather scores of thousands of eggs, often of rare birds. 

 The disastrous results of killing birds need only to be appre- 

 ciated in order to put a stop to this destructiveness. No 

 species, once exterminated, can ever be replaced, and the world 

 cannot afford to lose any of the objects of beauty and utihty. 



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