6G0 Wild Birdie Ut^aful and Injurious. 
that special abomination the “ Collector,” who by means of his 
paid satellites is instrumental in exterminating many most in- 
teresting species. Idle curiosity is also much to blame; when- 
ever a “fancy” bird appears out of its own district, be it a bittern, 
short-eared owl, green woodpecker or kingfisher, some one is 
sure to be inspired with a mania for destroying it, after which 
the poor bird is either thrown on the muck-heap, or, being stuffed 
and made into a ghastly caricature of itself, becomes an offence 
for the rest of its existence. These are some of the chief causes 
of the destruction of our birds. Ignorance is at the bottom of 
much of this wanton slaughter, and it is to be hoped that the 
spread of ornithological knowledge will bring about a better 
state of affairs. For the present let us be thankful that it is 
not a national custom to eat tomtits and nightingales. 
The present paper is an attempt to describe briefly the 
salient points in the life history of some of the species most inti- 
mately connected with the practice of agriculture and garden- 
ing. With regard to their food, in particular, the information 
given is very imperfect ; but it has been collected from very 
many sources — from the works of the best authorities, from 
many farmers and others who live in the open air, and, in not a 
few instances, from my own observation. It is hoped, therefore, 
that a fairly correct idea of the usual and occasional food of the 
various birds may be gathered from the following pages. 
It would be unwise to attempt to show the proportion in 
which the components of their food are consumed, because 
individuals of the same species vary much according to oppor- 
tunity and their own particular fancy. For this reason it 
would require records extending over several years, and includ- 
ing observations on an enormous number of birds from different 
localities, to enable us to draw any definite conclusions as to the 
proportionate amount of good and harm with which each 
species should be credited. In all probability this will never 
be done until we have a qualified ornithologist, appointed by 
some competent authority, to devote his whole time to the 
study of this important and most interesting question. 
It must, however, be borne in mind that, in nearly all 
cases, the misdeeds of birds are much more manifest than the 
benefits which they confer upon us. For instance, anyone can 
see and estimate the damage done to a bed of strawberries by 
blackbirds ; but it is not such a simple matter to calculate the 
amount of harm prevented by their destruction of slugs and 
other garden pests. Again, birds are frequently accused of 
causing mischief of which they are entirely innocent ; for they 
are often unjustly credited with destroying a crop, when they 
