A Plea for the Birds 313 



are fortunate enough to have some kinds frequent 

 every section of the land. There are song birds 

 and birds for the purpose of ridding the gardens of 

 pests, and birds which apparently have no other 

 value than that of displaying gorgeous plumage, — 

 a value which has proven to be deadly to them in 

 many instances, — and birds which have all three 

 of these qualifications. The robin, for instance, 

 is a beautiful bird, and he is also a song bird and 

 an insect eater, and, unfortunately, in some parts 

 of the country, he is used as food for human beings. 

 Then there is the beautiful scarlet tanager, whose 

 music attracts toward him an enemy after his 

 wonderful feathers. The martin is, perhaps, the 

 most useful bird, for it is claimed by men who are 

 in a position to know that if our fields abounded in 

 purple martins we would not be troubled with 

 mosquitoes, and the curculio, which destroys so 

 many fruit trees, is noticeably absent from the 

 orchard which is frequented by martins. Then 

 there is the mocking bird, and who in the South 

 does not know this wonderful little bird, that imi- 

 tates with such ease the songs of the other birds 

 around him? It is claimed by the mocking bird 

 lovers that one mocking bird furnishes as much 

 pleasure as any six other birds. They will nest 

 not far from human habitation and their young 



