390 PRACTICAL ZOOLOGY 



2. The Protection of Birds 



Protection from Natural Enemies. — In Part i of this chapter 

 we have considered the enemies of birds. One method of pro- 

 tecting birds is to destroy their natural enemies whenever pos- 

 sible. It is rather difficult to decide whether certain bird ene- 

 mies should be killed or not, but there can be no doubt as to the 

 destruction of cats and English sparrows. Other enemies, like 

 Cooper's hawks and sharp-shinned hawks, should be killed on 

 sight. Many animals, such as squirrels, crows, and jays, which 

 rob birds' nests or kill the young, should not be exterminated, 

 but their numbers should be reduced. 



Protection from Man. — The first and most important step 

 in protecting birds from their human enemies is to create a 

 public sentiment in favor of birds, by teaching their value and 

 the necessity for conserving them. But many people cannot be 

 taught these things and must be prevented by law from destroy- 

 ing birds. The Biological Survey of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture has published and is constantly distributing 

 many reports on the food habits and utility of birds. The 

 Audubon societies and the National Association of Audubon 

 Societies send out illustrated leaflets concerning birds to teachers 

 and others, and is directly interested in getting legislatures to 

 pass proper laws for the protection of birds. Many other so- 

 cieties such as those for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 

 the American Rescue League, the League of American Sports- 

 men, and the Agassiz Associations also lend their influence in 

 the same direction. 



Many laws have been passed protecting song birds, and others 

 are on the statute books protecting game birds during certain 

 seasons or for a period of years. Besides this, tracts of land have 

 been purchased in various parts of the country for the purpose 

 of providing a refuge for birds and other animals. Reservations 

 of this sort should be maintained in every state in the Union if 

 we wish to save our wild animals from extinction (see Chap.XLI). 



