tants of the woods. The charge against the jay was, however,
far more serious. He had been caught while making his breakfast of some
baby birds which a mother robin had just hatched. The quail and every
other small bird present called for vengeance on this ruthless destroyer
of their homes. The gardener also added that the bird ate his cherries
and apples.

The jay now presented a strong defense, saying that most of his food was
made up of harmful insects and worms. He proved that he did almost as
much good as harm. The judge, knowing what a wise bird the jay was, told
him to go but that he must thereafter look out for himself.

The family of hawks was next examined. There were many witnesses who
declared that they were the most destructive of neighbors and lived
entirely upon small birds and chickens. The songbirds all raised their
voices against hawks, saying that when they left their nests to hunt
for food for their children, they were never sure of finding them alive
upon their return. The judge inquired carefully as to the truth of these
complaints, but found that only a few of the hawks were guilty as
claimed. These included the peregrine falcon, sharp-shinned hawk, and
Cooper's hawk. The other hawks proved that they were the farmers' best
friends, for they waged endless war upon mice, rats, ground squirrels,
gophers, and rabbits, and only occasionally caught other birds. They had
evidence also that in those places where their numbers had been much
reduced by the hunters, the small rodents increased enormously.

[Illustration: _Finley & Bohlman_
Full-grown young red-tailed hawks.]

The court had to be held at night to accommodate the owls and give them
justice. The judge decided from the evidence that, in this family as in
the last, there were good members as well as bad and he could not
condemn them all to death. The owls proved that they were of even more
benefit to the farmers than were the hawks, because of the large number
of rats which they ate. The great horned owl and the barred owl only
were singled out for punishment.

[Illustration: _Finley & Bohlman_
The screech owl at home. This is a well-known bird, of great economic
value because it catches so many mice.]

The case of the meadow lark was called next. An old farmer complained
that this bird had destroyed his young grain. Then the hunters made the
plea that the meadow lark was really a game bird and that they ought to
be allowed to sh