The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1903-12-26
RISKS oF FEArHEREp TRIBE.
Birds Liable to as Many Accidents as
Other Creatures.

0NAN- 1N~~AANN
OF all creatures birds are most
exempt from liability to accident,
yet they not infrequently lose
their lives in most unexpected
ways, says the New York Post.
Once above trees and buildings
they have the whole upper air free
of every CJS,&cle and though
their fight sometimes equals the
speed of a railroad train they
have little to fear when well above
ground. Collision with other birds
seems scarcely possible, but it
sometimes occurs. When a covey
of quail are flushed occasionally
two birds will collide, at times
meeting with such force that both
are stunned. Flycatchers darting
at the same insect will now and
then come together, but not hard
enough to iniure either bird. In
the English papers a few years
ago a rare accident was reported
"a heron had spiked itself on one
of the pointed iron arms of a cross
surmOunting a church steeple.
Even the smallest and most won
derful of all flyers, the humming
bird, may come to grief in acct
dental ways, MS was recently
shown by the case of a tiny bird
of the ruby-throated variety,
which became entangled in the
hooks of a burdock burr and died
a prisoner before help could free
it.
Young phoebes sometimes be-
come entangled in the horse hairs
which are used in the lining Of
the nest. When they are old
enough to fly and attempt to leave
they are held prisoners or left
dangling from the nest. When
mink traps are set in the snow in
winter owls frequently fall vic
tisls, mice being scarce and the
bait tempting.
Lighthouses are perhaps the
cause of more accidents to birds
than any other obstacle they en-
counter on their nocturnal mi.
grations north and south. Many
hundreds are found dead at the
base of such structures. The sud.
den glare is so confusing and
binding as they shoot from in
tense darkness into its circle of
radiance that they are completely
bewildered and dash headlong
against the thick panes Of glass.
Telegraph wires are another men
c to lOw-hying birds, especially
those which, like quail and wood
cock, enjoy a whirlwind and at
tain great speed within a few
yards. Such birds have been
found cut almost in two by the
force with which they struck the
wire.
The elements frequently catch
birds unawares and overpower
them. A sudden wind or storm
will drive coast-hying birds hun
dreds of miles out to sea and
oceanic birds may be blown as far
inland. Hurricanes in the West
Indies are said to cause the deaths
of innumerable birds, as we'll as
other creatures. Small islands
are known to have become com
pletely depopulatedof their feath-
cred inhabitants from such
causes. Violent hailstorms, com
ing without warning in warm
weather, are quite common
agents in the destruction of birds
and thousands of English spar
rows have been stricken in a city
during such a storm.
Ruffled grouse have a habit of
burrowing deep beneath the snow
in winter and letting the storm
shut them in. They spend the
night in this warm, coy retreat,
their breath making its way
out through the loosely packed
crystals. But this becomes a
fatal trap when a cold rain sets
in during the night and an i'm
penetrable crust cuts off their
means of escape.