Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 283, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 November 1915 — The Relation of Our Shrubs and Trees to Our Wild Birds. [ARTICLE]

The Relation of Our Shrubs and Trees to Our Wild Birds.

A press bulletin of the university of Illinois says: “Anyone who pays even slight attention to the citizens of our bird world knows that they show preferences for certain kinds of surroundings. For some kinds of birds ono must go to the open fields; (pr others, to the woodlands; while many shore and water birds must be sought along the water courses and in the swamps. A somewhat further acquaintance leads to the knowledge ' that birds of a given species may frequent very different kinds of situations for feeding, for nesting and for refuge. Some species, as the robins and grackles which feed in the open fields, seek refuge and nesting sites in the woodlands and shade trees. Still others,* which may feed and nest on the ground in open fields, do not get very far from some protecting shrubery or hedge to which they fly when disturbed. “Although certain kinds of birds ar&uready to adapt themselves to quite extensive changes in their surroundings, others will simply disappear when such changes occur. The cutting away of the forests of several northern states is known to have been followed by a decrease of some of the foregt-loving species and an increase of those that prefer the open fields or the shrubbery areas incident to new clearings. Reports on the birds of several different states are confirmatory of this statement. “When one learns the habits of all the birds which are to be found during the year in any one of our ordinary Illinois localities and then makes a list of those which are not dependent in any way on trees or shrubs for food, nesting sites, or refuge, the list Is found to be relatively short, especially if the locality is distant from a river or lake. From several locality lists available to the writer, each Including from 85 to 170 specieß, it Is evident that about 75 per cent of the species listed are in one way or another dependent on trees or shrubs. 'From an investigation conducted by Dr. S. A. Forbes, state entomologist, some years ago, we have record of the identity of 38,813 wild birds are distributed over farm lands, orchards ■wH shrubbery areas and open woodlands. One hundred and seventy species were represented, forty-four of which may be regarded as independent of . trees and shrubs —able, apparently, to get along perfectly well without them. Of these latter twenty-four ■pecies are blrdß of the open field and the others are shore birds or watei birds. Of the remaining 126 species many will eventually disappear alto' gather, and the others will be represented in reduced numbers in localities where trees and shrubs are destroyed. About 69 per cent of the individual wild birds recorded by the foregoing observers belong to this group. These ratios correspond very closely with those from other available records based on more limited data. Fully two-thirds of the wild birds of ordinary Illinois localities are In some way dependent on trees and shrubbery.** Awiong the most successful raisers of chicks is a retired clergyman who hatches them under hens and Jn incur baton, but raises -them by hand and without artificial heat He says he can beat the old hen raising chicks, and he hu the “goods” to prove his