48 THE HUMAN SIDE OF BIRDS 



Nearly all types of birds perform certain du- 

 ties in nature which help to keep the balance in the 

 animate world. And those species which contri- 

 bute by their activities to the welfare of man are 

 naturally the most interesting to us. Many times 

 in his history has man been relieved of overwhelm- 

 ing pests, and received constant protection against 

 ever-present menaces to his safety or well-being, by 

 his feathered brothers of the air. In the words of 

 Longfellow: 



"You call them thieves and pillagers ; but know 

 They are the winged wardens of your farms^ 

 Who from the cornfields drive the insidious foe. 

 And from your harvests keep a hundred harms ; 

 Even the blackest of them aU, the crow. 

 Benders good service as your man-at-arms. 

 Crushing the beetle in his coat of mail. 

 And crying havoc on the slug and snail." 



In the past man has been more or less blind to 

 this fact, and has consistently wronged many of 

 his allies through his own ignorance. Wars of 

 extermination, which have been carried on from 

 time to time, when successful, have nearly always 

 brought heavy penalties. Birds prey upon all 

 kinds of vermin, which, when no longer kept deci- 

 mated, often overrun and destroy the harvests, and 

 men are helpless to aid themselves. Locust-birds 



