Skip to main content

Mice as Enemies of Ground-nesting Birds

Authors
J. H. Bowles
Journal
Condor
Volume
3
Issue
2 (March-April)
Year
1901
Pages
47
Section
Echoes from the Field
Online Text

Mice as Enemies of Ground-nesting Birds. The carnivorous habits of chipmunks as related in the recent issues of THE CONDOR were very interesting to me, though I believe mice are far more guilty. Mice are a perfect pest to groundbuilders in this country, as they burrow into the ground several yards away from the nest and then tunnel until they reach the bottom of the nest.

        They then dig upward into the nest and carry the eggs into their tunnel to eat. I-have often found broken and’ unbroken eggs several feet from the nest in a burrow. I have never actually seen mice do this, but the tunnels are much too small for anything else. The Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus sabini) are the worst sufferers that I have yet found, and their eggs are the largest that I have seen destroyed in this manner. All the small ground-builders suffer more or less.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                J. H. BOWLES, Tacoma, Wash.  

Advanced Search