■71 TH UITCLE SAIVS iTATUHAIISTS 



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3-24-33 



far failed. . . .This request nay appear irregiilar, "but I hope the irregularity will 

 "be offset "by my an:xiety to accomplish what I started to do.... I am determined to 

 have these "birds in my yard." 



Then, from an Illinois "boy scout comes this word: "The scouts.... in coopera- 

 tion with the civic comuunities here have undertaken the elimination of the English 

 sparrow in our communities because of their increasing numbers and the decreasing 

 number of song-'birds. . . .We would "be pleased to have all available information." 



But the idea of such a campaign against the sparrow makes the proprieter of 

 a Wisconsin lum'ber company highly indignant. He writes, "I notice an item in the 

 newspapers ., .descrTDing cruel, not to say bar"barous, contraptions for trapping 

 English sparrows. The sparrow is accused of driving wild birds away. ...I encour- 

 age sparrows and wild birds to nest near the house. .. .Of course, the blue jay and 

 the grackle sometimes behave in a belligerent manner, but I never saw a sparrow 

 drive a smaller bird away. . . .permit me to say that savage piirsuit of this harm- 

 less, cheerful, little bird is anything but good ethics to teach our young boys." 



In defending the sparrow, you notice the Wisconsin lunberman was a bit 

 critical of the blue jay. In California there is an altogether different kind of 

 jay called blue jay. A Calif ornian raps this bird pretty severely. He says, 

 "We..., would suggest th-a,t if the Park Service intends to have any bird- life in 

 Yosemite Valley outside of blue jays, they cjight to do something to exterminate 

 the blue jays in that "oarticular spot. I have heard a nimiber of people remark 

 that the blue jays are practically the only bird-life in Yosemite Valley." 



But we always find somebody ready to take the other side of an argument 

 about birds. Another Calif ornian writes, "If the idea is to protect birds, it 

 would be more practical to trap hunters. (A gun club) went out.... and shot 1,500 

 blue jays, then celebrated this heroic deed by a large dinner with 1,500 jays 

 piled up in front of the club. ITice work for full-grown men, wasn't it?" 



Well, there you've heard follrs brand hawks and owls, and sparrows, and eagles 



and blue jays as -ondesirables as public enemies. You've heard other folks defend 



each one of those birds even down to the lowly English sparrow. If you had to 



decide which side made the best argument, how would you vote? 



While you're mailing your decision, I'm going to tell you how McAtee stands 

 on these age-old arguments, IIcAtee has heard the arguments over and over for years 

 and years. Many a time, he has been called on to take a liand in a situation where 

 some pa.rticular bird got a little troublesome. He says: 



I can thinlc of scarcely a bird that may not be troublesome, or do some dam- 

 age, under certain conditions, neither can I think of many birds that are entire- 

 ly bad. So, I never condemn any one class of birds as a whole. If the jays, or 

 sparrows, or hawks destroy property in some particular neighborhood, by all means 

 take such steps as are legal to control them. Be sure, however, that you are not 

 violating either Federal or State laws when you take steps for such control, and 

 don't make war on an entire family of birds because of the faults of a few individ- 

 ual members . " 



AIJlMOUUGBjlEM' ; Aiid so we conclude another visit mth Uncle Sam's Naturalists. 

 The United States Biological Survey brings you another of these nature talks at 

 this same time two weeks from today. 



