BIKDS OF NEW YORK STATE 



171 



wild fruits that mature at the same time as the cultivated ones 

 to be protected. 



Waxwing " Nu Wg5 



b Grain eaters — crows, grackles and red-winged blackbirds 



In places near large marshes or where these birds congregate 

 by the thousands, great destruction is wrought by them and one 

 must needs be continually changing his scare crows and driving 

 them away to protect his crops. Shooting the birds is of little 

 avail as the number killed is at best but a very small fraction, 

 while the noise of the gun is just as effective in frightening them 

 away. During the summer months these birds feed upon insects, 

 and they should therefore not be killed. 



Grackle Nu GrB7 



Red-winged blackbirds Nu B192 



c Destroyers of eggs and young of other birds 



A third way in which some birds incur disfavor is in their 

 depredations upon other small birds, stealing their eggs or eat- 

 ing the young. The crows, jays, grackles and red-headed wood- 

 peckers are the worst culprits, but even the wrens like to break 

 the eggs of other birds nesting near them. Most birds are able 

 to defend their nests against their natural enemies, and it is 

 usually the weaker individuals that are preyed upon. This is 

 necessary to maintain the strength of the species so to have a 

 few of these natural enemies is desirable. 



Broken eggs of blackbird Nu B132 



d Usurpers 



The house sparrow stands in disfavor chiefly because the native 

 birds can not compete with him and he is rapidly usurping the 

 place of such birds as bluebirds, tree swallows, wrens and the 

 hole-nesting species. Birds of this species travel in such large 

 flocks and are ready to nest so long before the other birds arrive 

 in the spring that the competition is quite unfair. 



Photography 



Four Pictures, Two of Meadowlark and 

 Two of Cardinal, to Show the Differences 

 between Genuine and Fake Bird Photog- 

 raphy. (1919) Nu ZP8 



