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 Sept, 1916 A HOSPITAL 1*OR WILD BIRDS 193 As it was impossible for the poor creature to feed himself it became in- cumbent upon me to assume the functions of foster father, and I soon dis- covered I had a big contract upon my hands, for the mutilated mandibles had to be pried apart and the food thrust down his remarkably capacious gullet several times daily. Not once was this' process performed without vigorous protest on his part, and the sounding forth of his bellowing notes. His mimi- cry was fascinating and ever a source of interest and amusement,. especially when he realized that he was not fooling you and would descend from his statuesque attitude, and suddenly, by a trick of feather adjustment, assume three times his normal proportions, uttering a roar of disgust and resentment. Nature made a feeble effort to reproduce the destroyed horny material of the bill, the result being a thin nail-like projection a little over half an inch long. After several months the bittern's appetite began to fail and he died of inani- tion. Quite a large number of leathered patients, consisting of house sparrows, finches, horned larks and western meadowlarks, were recorded in the hospital during the early summer months as victims of the screw-fly maggot, a marked increase being noted the present summer. This fly has a deadly method in the deposit of its eggs, which are hatched in the process of insertion into the flesh of its victim, regions being selected largely inaccessible to the beak of the bird. The inner corner of the eye, the top of the head, the neck, and the under sides of the wings seem to be the favorite locations selected by the fly, although some of the victims were simply dotted all over with the worms. I never observed any of the worm-infested birds making efforts to remove the maggots, or giving evidence that they were suffering from local irritation or discomfort, but all seemed to be stupid and drowsy as though under the influ- ence of septic poisoning. Two fledgling western meadowlarks found wandering quite a distance from their nest, were'found to be literally alive with the horrid maggots, one yielding twenty-six and the other twenty-four specimens. Very few of these fly-stung birds recovered, even when relieved of their deadly messmates, sep- tic conditions prevailing to a fatal extent. To me the remarkable thing about this maggot is that it immediately abandons its victim as soon as death ensues. Human beings are infested as well as birds and mammals. A child a few months old while being wheeled in its carriage through one of our parks cried out suddenly as if in pain, and the mother noticed a screw-fly dashing against the face of the infant. By the time the mother reached my office with the child I found half a dozen of these micoscopic maggots burrowed half their length in the skin of the baby's face. My bird hospital has furnished me with an endless number of incidents and anecdotes of bird life which I treasure up for the enjoyment' and edifica- tion of the school children, who, many thousand in numbers, have become my faithful and loyal coadjutors in the care and protection of bird-life. And through this glorious service for our leathered brothers, the birds, I have gar- nered the sweetest joys of life, and prolonged my years beyond man's allotted time. Colorado Springs, Colorado, August 7, 1916.