Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-06-05
OUR BIRDS AND THEIR PROTECTION.
NATURAL INTRoDU CND ENclIIES BIRDS
BY Biology Aar.haltown



birds have many adverse conditions 10
struggle against, and many naturai
and introduced enemies tend te reouce
their numbers or even exterminAte
them. Market hunters. feather GEAR
ers. and sportsmen have endeavored 10
ascribe the extinction Of certain spe-
cies of birds to these causes. out naNs
never been able to make their clalHi
good. The fact remains that these
same species were able to maintain
their numbers against these enemies
before man appeared on the scene. &c
is man who is responsible Tor the eA-
termination of numbers OF our piros'
We will however leave mans share IN
the destruction of bird life for future
discussion, and take up at this time
the other enemies.
Among the natural enemies of bros
In and about Marshalltown the squir-
rels seem to be the most numerous
Squirrels are notorious nest ROBBERS
and where they are as numerous rs
they are here must do great deal IN
keeping down the number OF pros
nesting in the city. several instances
of their work have come to my notlco
ard others have reported the sans
thing. One of the things which struch
me most forcefully during my nrst
year in this city was the comparative
scarcity of birds nesting in town. OBJ
servations soon convinced me that the
squirrels were responsible for this con-
dition. Only those species OF birds
that can successfully hzht of the
squirrel, as robins, brown thrashers,
catbirds. blue Jays. grosbeaks. and the
woodpeckers. or those whose nests are
out of his reach as the wren ana
oriole, are at all common in town. AS
between the squirrels and the birds II
ought not be hard to choose for. be-
sides their beauty and power OF song.
the birds have great economic value
as insect destroyers. Some steps
should be taken to reduce the mum
bers OF the squirrels II we desire TO
have greater numbers Of birds ABOUT
our homes.
Hawks and owls Of certain kinds live
to a large extent on small oifds anu
poultry, but fortunately these inour-
ious species are not very common IN
central Iowa. We have two. the coop
ers hawk and sharp Skinned ha"h'
which are found in greater or lesser
numbers. OF these the sharp shlnneo
is found only in migration and Is
usually seen during April and May IN
the spring and September and OCTOBER
in the fall. The Cooper's hawk is the
most common one and lives very large
" on small birds and poultry. The
owls all eat greater or less NUMBERS
of birds but the great horned
owl is the most destructive of all. Ihls
species is not at all common and the
other owls are generally regarded as
doing more good than harm.
The crow and blue jay HAYS acquired
wide reputation as nest robbers anu
some individuals among them manage
to live up to their reputation one
investigator found crows feeding the
nestlings on frogs and the young OIL
such birds as the meadowlark. Blue
lays often steal the eggs or young OF
the birds. In one day l noted seven
brown thrasher nests which had APP
parently been robbed, and last sprins
found one cardinals nest which hao
been destroyed by them.
Birds have other enemies, as the
snakes. which eat birds and eggs
whenever they have the opportunity.
Pickerel. pike, and bass occasionally
catch Young birds which fall into the
water and often eat young ducks,
srebes. and coots. The English or
house sparrow drives many OF the
birds away from the towns and de-
s.roys the nests OF many Of those that
attempt to stay.
One of the greatest natural factors
In the destruction OF bird life are the
storms which overtake them during
mizrationsas Great numbers Of the
smaller birds are often killed at this
time Young birds are often killed IN
the nests by violent rain and hail
storms. One year in a swamp In north
ern Iowa 1 saw hundreds OF RED.
winged and yellow headed blackbirds
nests which had been DESTROYED In this
way.
Besides these natural enemies man
has introduced an animal which out
ranks them all in the destruction OF
bird life. and that is the cat. OF all
animals dom esticated by man the cat
is the only one which is not only prac-
-icallv useless but harmful as well.