BIRD ENEMIES INTRODUCED BY MAN 139 



John Burroughs says that cats destroy more 

 birds than all other animals combined. 



William Dutcher, president of the National 

 Association of Audubon Societies, considers the wild 

 house cat one of the greatest causes of bird destruc- 

 tion known. 



Mr. E. H. Forbush found that nearly a hundred 

 correspondents scattered through all the counties 

 of Massachusetts reported the cat as one of the 

 greatest enemies of birds, a larger number reporting 

 this than any other enemy. 



M. Raspail in France watched sixty-seven nests 

 for one season and found that forty-one of these 

 were destroyed. Fifteen of these were robbed by 

 cats, which destroyed more nests than any other 

 single enemy. 



The destruction of birds by cats means a direct 

 economic money loss. It means an increase of in- 

 sect pests. This increase means more destruction 

 of crops, which means smaller yields and smaller 

 financial returns : more cats — fewer birds — more 

 insects — smaller crops — less money. 



Number of birds killed by cats. There are enough 

 data available so that one may secure an approx- 

 imate estimate of the number of birds killed by 

 cats in a year. 



Mr. A. C. Dyke reports a pet cat that was well 

 fed, which was actually seen to kill fifty-eight birds 

 in one season, including the young in five nests. 



