Field Notes 
235 
Tree Swallow ( Iridoprocne hicolor). Only migrating. 
Loggerhead Shrike ( Lanins ludovicianus ludovicianus) . Very abun- 
dant. 
Warbling Vireo ( Yirco griseus griseus). 
Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrca). On bushes at a creek. 
Myrtle Warbler ( Dendroica coronata) . In winter. 
Mockingbird ( Mimus polyglottos polyglottos) . Very abundant. The 
young ones leave the nest before middle May. 
Catbird ( Dumctclla carolinensis) . Rare. 
Brown Thrasher ( Toxostoma rufum). 
Brown-headed Nuthatch ( Sitta pusilla). Breeds from the end of 
March. 
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila cacruleci) . At a creek in the 
shrubs. 
Robin ( Plancsticus migratorius) . Abundant in winter. 
Bluebird ( Sialia sialis sialis). They nest in the second half of Feb- 
ruary. George Baum. 
FIRES IN TIMBER DESTROY MUCH VALUABLE WILD LIFE 
The conservation of forested areas and particularly their protection 
from fire must go hand in hand with the conservation of most game, in 
the opinion of the Biological Survey of the United States Department of 
Agriculture. Shelter and food are necessities in the lives of the ma- 
jority of animals and birds. Decrease one or both of these vital elements, 
which are supplied to a large degree in our forests, and the numbers of 
valuable wild creatures are correspondingly diminished. 
Forest fires not only destroy the forest but eliminate the necessary 
food and shelter. The belief that burning over in certain localities is 
beneficial because it promotes a new growth of grass, ignores the fact 
that the grass thus obtained does not compensate for the destruction of 
trees and the shelter and food required by animals. Partridges in par- 
ticular suffer from forest or brush fires. When their favorite places are 
burned over and their food and shelter are gone they are obliged to 
seek new localities and face new dangers. 
Indiscriminate setting of spring fires in the southern states dislodges 
deer, opossums, raccoons, foxes, squirrels, rabbits, and other animals and 
endangers ground-nesting of birds in the timber, such as the woodcock, 
pheasants, wild turkey, and whip-poor-will. The woodcock is in some dan- 
ger of extermination at the present time and deserves all possible pro- 
tection. In seasons of drought, forest fires even invade marshy places 
and drive out fur-bearing animals as well as waterfowl and shorebirds. 
Many think that burning results merely in temporary inconvenience to 
the game, and may not realize that the food of many birds is largely the 
seeds and berries of the year before. Burning the brush also eliminates 
for months all shelter from natural enemies. 
Burning of the ground cover in forests of longleaf and shortleaf 
pines kills the young trees as they emerge and results in thin, strag- 
gling growth. The burning of timber and other ground cover which 
should absorb and retain moistures also accelerates the run-off and af- 
