ENCOURAGING BIRDS AROUND THE HOME 



179 



aged, and when possible the chimneys 

 left open at the top, and so constructed 

 as to admit of their ready occupancy. 



THE ENEMIES OE THE BIRDS 



Of bird enemies, cats are undoubtedly 

 the worst, and maudlin sentiment should 

 not be wasted upon them, for they are 

 incorrigible. The plain, ordinary alley 

 cat should be eliminated when possible, 

 and they make fine fertilizers when 

 planted about the roots of one's favorite 

 grape-vine. Cat- possessing neighbors 

 should be warned that if their cats are 

 caught trespassing they will be turned 

 into fertilizer. 



Red squirrels are next on the list and 

 should be shot on sight, but I have never 

 found the depredations of the gray squir- 

 rel to warrant similar treatment. Bird- 

 chasing dogs are a nuisance and should 

 be restrained during the breeding season. 



Skunks and foxes should both be dis- 

 couraged, and the wily raccoon and elu- 

 sive weasel alsn, if perchance the)' are 

 found to lurk about. 



Of the hawks, the cooper and sharp- 

 shinned hawks should both be shot at 



sight, while of the owls, the great horned 

 is incapable of reform. The little screech- 

 owl is almost always beneficial on ac- 

 count of the numbers of mice it often de- 

 stroys, but individual screech-owls are 

 often destructive to bird life. 



Crows and jays will bear watching. 

 There seem to be good crows and jays, 

 and then again individuals among them 

 of exceeding bad habits, as many a long- 

 sufi^ering bird family knows to its sorrow. 



In many places the English sparrows 

 are pests and should be shot and trapped 

 relentlessly. They are pretty canny 

 birds, and if once they learn you are af- 

 ter them with a gun they quickly desert 

 the premises. If, owing to surrounding 

 conditions, gunning for them seems un- 

 desirable, traps may be used with telling 

 effect. There are several kinds in use in 

 this country. 



Last, but not least, the black snake 

 should be killed whenever found ; its 

 large size, great acti\'ity, tree-climbing 

 propensities, and taste for eggs and small 

 birds have fairly won for it the reputa- 

 tion of being one of the birds' deadliest 

 enemies. 



Photograph by George Shiras, 3rd 



BIRDS CAN TAKE TtlEIR OWN PICTURES (SEE PAGES IOI-IO4) 



After trying vainly for more than an hour to photograph comparatively tame buzzards 

 and vultures, Mr. George Shiras, 3rd (the inventor of flashlight photography of wild animals 

 and birds, and of a method by which animals and birds take their own photographs), aban- 

 doned the blind behind which he had been concealed and set out his automatic camera with 

 string and bait. On returning in about half an hour he found the bait gone, and the develop- 

 ment of the plate some hours later revealed the above picture of a black Florida vulture and 

 tame buzzards. Consult numerous articles by Mr. Shiras in the Nation.\l Geographic Maga- 

 zine. 



