Oklahoma Arbor and Bird Day, Friday, March Twelfth, 1909/Part Two: Bird Day/Birds as Enemies

BIRDS AS ENEMIES.

Everybody knows that birds sometimes do harm as well as good. So we must try to learn just what this harm is and whether or not it is as great as some people would try to make us believe. Quite a number of different birds are continually doing things that we call wrong. If we only knew of these wrong things and nothing of the bad they do, it might go pretty hard with the doers.

Some of the wrong things that birds do are cherry and berry stealing, grain eating, grape puncturing, apple pecking, corn pulling, the carrying of some kinds of bark lice on their feet from one place to another, the spreading of hog colera by crows and turkey buzzards, the robbing of the poultry yard, and lastly the disturbing of our slumbers in the morning by their songs.

Some of these so-called crimes are genuine and are to be regretted. Others are more imaginary than real. A few of them could be prevented in part or altogether, while others might be made less severe if we were inclined to take the trouble to do it. After all that can be said in favor of and against the usefulness of birds in general, there can be no doubt left, in the minds of thinking people at least, as to the value of these creatures. Only ignorant and thoughtless persons will continue to destroy our birds after learning facts like these about them.—Bessey-Bruner-Swezey.