The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1894-11-15
SOME BIRD FRIENnS
APPARENT SOCIAL STATUS OF cpo,...
AND sPARRoWs, WV

me Ubiquitous Little Marauder and n.
Sable Devourer of Carrion Seem ..
In the Same Localities-They Follow
and Civilization.
The ubiquity of the sparrow is trn,,
markable. and the wonder comfy ~
grows as to the pioneer instincts ~
checklist of all birds think the s VI This
even outdoes the Hindoostanee crow pta a
contempt OF all mankind. In Inai iOr ns
crow hangs about the house like SOM sae
reputable friend whom you would l;ta.us
rid of, but fear the consequences Of II"
missal. He hops jauntily from the h.S' VIZ
khana (cookhouse) to the veranda u'a
the chota hazrae, or little breakfast i ;lsN
ing served, and nimbly steals to.a,.
crust on the open brazier or makes ls
den swoop upon the table and succasst~%
seizes and carries off choice morsel ''ui!
He snatches from the hands of cbild,..
their buttered bread and stalks awav ,r;a
head on one side to some secure place H. a
to devour his thievish gain. Indeed tI'
Hindoostanee declare he is the very sorI 4 !,
their devil, and have therefore some rssn.. vi
for this sleek black bird Stone CROW re'
kill one, and no rest will come to that ~ VI
fortunate house for days or weeks Fro.
each tree top will come an avenging csr
and when a multitude of Threats give WOW,
to multitudes of caws the din is terrifrinn
There is some sort of comradesbin 10
tween the sable bird and the quaker sno,
row. Both are found in the most mfr.
<a1
and the sparrow were the only birds of II.
desert, except some strange little fellow
who was wing weary and had halted for,
few brief moments on his way. 1t isnI<o
astonishing when one comes to realizeit
the increase in bird population in the wass
places of the globe, and am compeIedh
the belief that birds have to leave tbqi,
birthplaces and wander abroad lust as wa
have to do. Some 30 years ago. when tberp
was no Riverside and that locality was bt
a wild swept sheep range, there were no
birds there, but with cultivation have coma
hundreds of songsters, whose CHEEKY music
can be heard among the pretty grounds Of
those artistic homes.
Arizona, as far as can Judge from nv
hasty visits, is birdless, but the works that
are being inaugurated along the ella and
Colorado rivers will soon bring in an i'm.
migration. 1t is queer how these birds
know where food is to be found, and it il
queercr still how they disseminate their
knowledge Here the birds are getting ton
plentiful, when not five years ago bird
was indeed a rara avis, and what mischief
these little sparrows and linnets can dol
Not content with destroying hundreds Of
dollars worth of early fruit in spring they
continue their destructive war till late in
winter. and when the heads of the tender
alfalfa. are just springing through the soil
peck, peck go the birds, and each succulent
sprig is eaten.
They find plenty of amusement, do these
little fellows. The seed of the sagebrush
is steadily falling, and myriads of them de
vote their attention to that, alternating be
tween the desert and the barns 1t is pa
thetic when one comes to consider how
soon man can establish friendly relations
with these little monsters All birds are
possessed of considerable confidence, and
no sooner do they know you are harmless
than they take eutire possession of you and
your belongings. had box of barley on
the porch, which was Immediately confs
Gated On my first venture on the stoops
cloud of dust and feathers rose from th.
box On my second visit few of the late
arrivals fled. On my third visit the birds
never left the grain, and subsequently they
quarreled and fought and chartered as i'll
were some inanimate log. or at least their
ward
1t is difficult, on the other hand, to con
ciliate crow The average desert crew is
yet an uneducated bird and hovers not
about the house awaiting the dropping Of
some tidbit. He prefers rather to hunt in
the vineyard or the orchard and is as furi
Gus an enemy to the field mouse and the
kangaroo rat as is cat. What pests, too
are these kangaroo rats, and the crow who
will attack, kill and eat these wretched 70
dents deserves the full need of praise The
kangaroo rat is rightly named He is white
with long tail. and hops about like his
namesake of Australia. He burrows m
mense holes, and truthful rancher once
told me he had poured Is inches of water
into one Of their burrows for 4S hours and
yet the tunnel never showed signs of filling
"They must be at the bottom of the EARTH
he refectively remarked, and concluding
said, 1.-THE mischief of it is he always Sc
lects the finest land" which shows they are
not wanting in good sense.
The quail now is more of a nuisance than
ever, and all through the operation of the
coyote law. The coyote is the desert farm
er's friend. He eats the rabbits who gnaw
the trees, and he breakfasts sumptuouslyon
quail, which destroy the early fruit. Mr.
Gale of Indio had his crop of grapes almost
entirely destroyed by these voracious birds
They settled in great clouds upon his vine
yard, and as the berries ripened they ate
The whir of their wings as they arose from
the vines reminded one of some huge piece
of machinery suddenly started
The quail on the desert, of which there
are three kinds-the desert, the mountain
and the valley-are by no means shy and
have so little been disturbed by hunters
that they fall an easy prey, but it is almost
impossible to bag them unless with dog
They are the nimblest of runners and are
never so unwise as to rise to shot, but VIII
scurry in the thick underbrush and hide
there so cunningly that one may almosI
tread on them before they will move. Great
is their vitality. and they will carry Oh
more shot in their heads and live than would
an Ethiopian from Dahomey However
severely they may be wounded, they MAKE
bitter fight against capture, and their brs'
instinct is to get to cover.-John H. Gllmom
In San Francisco Chronicle.
A Prehistoric Picture.
In q cave in France has been found
na