Oc) 1s 192) 
ny L159 
BIRDS IN THE ARBORETUM 
BY CHARLES E. FAXON 
ConTINvuOUS observations of the bird-life in the Arboretum 
have been made since its establishment. The varied natural 
features of the place, combined with favorable conditions as 
regards food supply and protection, have proved, as might be 
expected, very attractive to the various native birds of the 
region, as their abundance testifies. Upwards of fifty species 
have been noted as breeding here during the last twenty 
years, and few of these have as yet forsaken us. 
The drainage of swamp land has driven away such water- 
loving birds as the Red-winged Blackbird and Spotted Sand- 
piper, and the early and frequent cutting of grass on the up- 
lands has had the same effect on the Meadowlark and Bobo- 
link. The Barn Swallow and Cliff Swallow, formerly com- 
mon, have also disappeared here as elsewhere within the city 
limits. The necessarily persistent warfare on the Gypsy Moth, 
Elm-leaf Beetle and other insect pests by spraying, occurring 
as it does at the height of the nesting season, has doubtless 
had its effect in diminishing the abundance of some species. 
Yet notwithstanding this, and in spite of the rapid increase 
of urban conditions in the surrounding country, the bird pop- 
ulation of the Arboretum holds its own surprisingly well thus 
far ; and, if we include migrants and winter visitants, proba- 
bly a hundred species can be found here in the course of the 
year. 
The list includes many of our most beautiful birds of song 
or plumage, such as the Song Thrush, Veery, Rose-breasted 
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