PLANT FRIENDS 



293 



is a pest, not because he does much harm, but because he 

 drives away the birds that do good. The crow and the jay, 

 mischief makers as they are, destructive, too, of the nests of 

 other birds, do about as much good as harm. The shrike, or 

 butcher-bird, has some.good qualities. And of the hawks and 

 owls, against whom so much has been said, only a few kinds, 

 with a few individuals in the other kinds, are harmful. On 

 the whole, the hawks and owls do good by killing the snakes 

 and mice which are so destructive on the farm. Kill or chase 

 away the sparrow hawk, the pigeon hawk, the duck-hawk 

 (these three form the fal- 

 con family), the American 

 goshawk, the partridge or 

 Cooper's hawk, and the 

 sharp-shinned or chicken 

 hawk, with the great 

 horned owl. But re- 

 member that on the 

 whole all other hawks 

 and owls, and all other 

 birds, do much more good 

 than harm. 



To encourage them we 

 must find what birds like. 



They all like nesting places ; therefore plant shrubberies and 

 trees, and provide nesting boxes. The winter birds need 

 food. We must, besides, protect the birds; and there are 

 three ways in which they are unnecessarily killed. The 

 first is by the robbing of nests, often by boys who hg,ve 

 not even the excuse that they are making a collection of 

 eggs. The eggs should be let alone, except by collectors 

 under the encouragement and direction of parents or 

 teachers. Far better it is to study birds, to learn to know 



Fig. 



166. — Nesting boxes encourage 

 birds to live near us. 



