. Birds in their relations to man; a manual of economic ornithology for the United States and Canada . HEAD (IF HAWK. put on the black-list because they feed upon fish, but withus this is never thought of. We are sure the kingfisher isnot begrudged his scaly diet by any one who is able to appre-ciate the fitness of the bird to our river scenery. And wecan well spare the few fish our ospreys catch in the watersof the bay, when we are rewarded by the sight of the statelybirds soaring through the air. About the only bird offencewe are unable to condone is the robbing of our poultry-yardsby the ha
. Birds in their relations to man; a manual of economic ornithology for the United States and Canada . HEAD (IF HAWK. put on the black-list because they feed upon fish, but withus this is never thought of. We are sure the kingfisher isnot begrudged his scaly diet by any one who is able to appre-ciate the fitness of the bird to our river scenery. And wecan well spare the few fish our ospreys catch in the watersof the bay, when we are rewarded by the sight of the statelybirds soaring through the air. About the only bird offencewe are unable to condone is the robbing of our poultry-yardsby the hawks and owls; and here, unfortunately, the inoffen-sive species generally have to pay the penalty for the crimesof their more ferocious kindred. 6 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN. As to the relations between the birds themselves—especiallythe few that prey upon their kindred—in general we are con-tent to let Nature work out her balance of life in her own. HEAD tiF SHRIKE. way. The chief exception lo this under our present condi-tions would be in the notable case where short-sighted manhas interfered with Natures balance by introducing the Eng-lish sparrow, which, we regret to say, is becoming well estab-lished in our town. And we have the same feeling withregard to those parasitic and predaceous insects which birdsundoubtedly devour: we are quite sure that by so doing theyare helping to keep the balance of insect life where it will bemost effective for mans benefit. The birds are also to be credited with the destruction ofan enormous amount of weed-seed, a service which is littleappreciated by the general public. The estimate by Profes-sor F. E. L. Beal, that the tree-sparrows alone will eat eighthundred and seventy-five tons of weed-seed in Iowa in oneseason, should help to a more general appreciation of thisphase of bird activity. There are various other benefits derived from birds whichare not illustrated in our local conditions. On
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