The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-07-15

I Mississippi, Missouri and North Carolina
Georgia apparently allows the bird to be
killed at any season. The importance to
| sportsmen of the flicker is small in COM
parison with its value to farmers. 1t IS
one of the most useful allies of agricul-
ture, standing almost without peer as
a destroyer Of noxious insects. 1t eats
grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, May
beetles, snout beetles or weevlls, leaf
beetles, caterpillars and ants.
In the District of Columbia red-winged
or marsh blackbirds are treated as game
birds, and an open season for shooting
them is set apart, on account of the dam
age they do to grainfields In spring and
fall. But, says Dr. Palmer, it may well
be questioned whether this would reduce
their numbers as effectually as If they
were excluded entirely from protection In
localities where they are injurious.
In some sections of the South, particu-
larly in New Orleans, all kinds of small
birds, even thrushes, are considered legit-
innate game, and are in the markets.
Ore main cause of the fearful decrease of
the small migratory birds is found in the
Southern states. There millions CT all
kinds of birds are killed to satisfy the
palate of the gourrnand. There Is scarce
ly a hotel in New Orleans where small
birds do not form an Item on the bill of
fare. At certain seasons the robin, wood
thrush thrasher, olive backed thrush.
hermit thrush, chewink flicker and many
sparrows form the bulk OF these victims,
but cat birds, cardinals and almost all
small birds can be found in the markets.
| Robins perhaps are killed more generally
| than any of the other thrushes and in
some states their killing is legalized at
certain seasons. A few years ago large
| numbers of robins were shipped to the
! markets of Washington frGm points in
| Virginia and North Carolina. Every one
| knows, or ought To know. of the insect
| ivorous habits of robins. They eat cater
/ pillars, grasshoppers and beetles, and
| their vegetable food is composed largely
of wild fruits, where there are such fruits
| to be had
USEFUL AS sCAVENGERs.
Plume birds include not only the her
ons, which are killed for their nuptial
| plumes, bur several water birds which
are used for decorative purposes, such as
| pelicans. terms, gulls and grebes. The
snowy heron furnishes the well known
| a1grettes; pelicans supply quilts and
| breasts; gulls and terms are worn in great
numbers on hats, while grebes breasts,
besides being used for trimming hats, are
| also made into muffs, collarettes and
! capes. There IS an enormous demand for
| plume birds by the MILITARY trade In
| years when they are in fashion, and the
| localities where the birds breed are
SCOuICu ny hunters, VINO ma a ready
market for the skins at prices varying
| from 10 to 50 cents apiece AS these birds
all nest in colonies, it is a simple mat
ter to destroy large numbers on the
| breeding grounds. and so thoroughly Is
the work done that some of the species,
| particularly the egrets and terms, have
been almost eXterminated along the
southern and eastern coasts of the United
| States.
The value of herons, terms and grebes
is not appreciated generally, and even
l the services of the gulIs as scavengers
are recognized in comparatively few
! places AS a result, birds of plume, be-
ing neither game, song nor insectivorous,
are not protected by ordinary game laws,
| unless by chance they happen to be
| mentioned in the list of protected Species
| Thus by a curious perversity of circum-
stances, the species which are killed most
mercilessly and in the greatest numbers
! are the very ones which get the least
| protection.
Plume birds as we'll as insectivorous
birds are protected In states which have
| comprehensive laws prohibiting the kill
| ing of all birds, except game birds and
certain designated species commonly
considered injurious. But these states