39 



Minor Bird Enemies. 



Certain exceptional individuals of some species of birds have 

 been known to destroy other birds even though such habits 

 are not generally characteristc of the species to which these 

 predatory individuals belong. There are other species which 

 occasionally or commonly attack birds but have now become 

 so rare that they do little harm. Gulls, herons and cranes 

 may be mentioned as belonging to the first class and eagles to 

 the second. Some individuals among gulls are more or less 

 predatory. The herring gull (Larus argentatus) sometimes kills 

 young birds of its own species, but so far as I know has 

 not been known to eat them. When short of food, herring 

 gulls have been known to kill and eat young chickens. The 

 western gull (Larus occidentalis) and the blackbacked gull (Larus 

 marinus) destroy the eggs and young of other birds, and Euro- 

 pean species have been seen to kill small birds, but such habits 

 seem to be exceptional with most American gulls. 



European herons are said at times to prey upon fledglings 

 which stray near their retreats (Nuttall). The black-crowned 

 night-heron (Nycticorax nycticorax ncevius) has been seen to kill 

 ducklings (Crandall), and bitterns are said occasionally to eat the 

 eggs and young of other birds. The red-headed woodpecker (Mel- 

 anerpes erythrocephalus) , now rare in Massachusetts, has been 

 accused of being a nest-robber. Bad habits have been attrib- 

 uted occasionally to cuckoos, catbirds, wrens, orioles and other 

 small birds, but in most cases they may be considered more or 

 less individual and unusual. 



Turtles or Tortoises. 



So far as I have been able to learn only one turtle, native to 

 Massachusetts, can be counted as an enemy of birds. This is 

 the snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina). It has been known 

 to kill and eat young night herons that had fallen from their 

 nests, and is considered the greatest enemy of young waterfowl. 

 It frequents muddy ponds, to which waterfowl resort, and drags 

 them down by the feet. I have known one in this way to tear 

 a leg from a living adult Canada goose, which escaped but 

 afterward died. All who attempt to raise wild fowl in the 



