Our Vanishing Wild Life: Its Extermination and PreservationHornaday, William T. (William Temple)
History
Our Vanishing Wild Life: Its Extermination and Preservation
Hornaday, William T. (William Temple)
Game-laws -- United States; Wildlife conservation -- United States
Wood-duck, hooded merganser, blue-winged teal, upland plover; curlew
(perhaps already gone); red-tailed hawk (I have not seen one in
Middlesex County for several years); great horned owl (almost gone in my
county, Middlesex); house wren. The eave swallows and purple martins are
fast deserting eastern Massachusetts and the barn swallows steadily
diminishing in numbers. The bald eagle should perhaps be included here.
I seldom see or hear of it now.--(William Brewster, Cambridge.)
Upland plover, woodcock, wood-duck (recent complete protection is
helping these somewhat), heath hen, piping plover, golden plover, a good
many song and insectivorous birds are apparently decreasing rather
rapidly; for instance, the eave swallow.--(William P. Wharton, Groton.)
MICHIGAN:
Wood-duck, limicolae, woodcock, sandhill crane. The great whooping crane
is not a wild bird, but I think it is now practically extinct. Many of
our warblers and song birds are now exceedingly rare. Ruffed grouse
greatly decreased during the past 10 years.--(W.B. Mershon, Saginaw.)
MINNESOTA:
The sandhill crane has been killed by sportsmen. I have not seen one in
three years. Where there were, a few years ago, thousands of blue
herons, egrets, wood ducks, redbirds, and Baltimore orioles, all those
birds are now almost extinct in this state. They are being killed by
Austrians and Italians, who slaughter everything that flies or moves.
Robins, too, will be a rarity if more severe penalties are not imposed.
I have seized 22 robins, 1 pigeon hawk, 1 crested log-cock, 4
woodpeckers and 1 grosbeak in one camp, at the Lertonia mine, all being
prepared for eating. I have also caught them preparing and eating sea
gulls, terns, blue heron, egret and even the bittern. I have secured 128
convictions since the first of last September.--(George E. Wood, Game
Warden, Hibbing, Minnesota.)
From Robert Page Lincoln, Minneapolis.--Partridge are waning fast, quail
gradually becoming extinct, prairie chickens almost extinct.
Duck-shooting is rare. The gray squirrel is fast becoming extinct in
Minnesota. Mink are going fast, and fur-bearing animals generally are
becoming extinct. The game is passing so very rapidly that it will soon
be a thing of the forgotten past. The quail are suffering most. The
falling off is amazing, and inconceivable to one who has not looked it
up. Duck-shooting is rare, the clubs are idle for want of birds. What
ducks come down fly high, being harassed coming down from the north. I
consider the southern Minnesota country practically cleaned out.
MISSOURI:
The birds threatened with extermination are the American woodcock,
wood-duck, snowy egret, pinnated grouse, wild turkey, ruffed grouse,
golden eagle, bald eagle, pileated woodpecker.
MONTANA:
Blue grouse.--(Henry Avare, Helena.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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