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young coppice ana thicket tiorders, the latter prefering tall timber 

 and shady ravines. In short, there is not a hiding place that is 

 entirely safe from enemies, and not an insect, or any other form of 

 life, that does not have its enemies which, under normal conditions, 

 effectually control its increase. 



Many of these birds also eat seeds of plants, which by digestion 

 may be destroyed and their increase controlled^ or by accident seeds 

 may fee dropped and distributed. That a hardwood forest usually 

 follows the destruction of a coniferous forest, which destruction 

 might occur under natural conditions by the action of the elements, 

 cannot be due, as is sometimes supposed, to seeds which have lain 



dormant in the ground for years, since the viability of most seeds 



(4) 



iB now known to extend over but a few years. Porbush has shown 



in an interesting and convincing manner, that where species occur 

 which by reason of heavy seeds could not have been carried by the 

 wind, this succession of hardwood species is due largely to distti- 

 bution of the seeds by birds and nammals. 



'i'uriling now to the second group, those birds whose influence 

 is more directly on the animal life other than insects, we find 

 birds with a wide range of activity, vwftich may be only occasional 

 visitors to the forest, of these, the hawks, owls, and eagles feed 

 largely on animal life, mostly birds, mammals or fish, according 

 to the species, — altho the sparrow hawk and screech owl also feed 

 on insects, 



I'he northern shrike, crow and jay feed to some extent on birds 

 or eggs and small mammals, as well as on insects and grain, and 



