The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1903-09-11
RISKS OF FEATHEREp TRIBE.
Birds Are Liable to as Many Accidents
as Are Other Creatures.

New York Evening Post: OF all
creatures birds are most exempt from
liability to accident, yet they not in
frequently lose their lives in most UNI
expected ways. Once above trees and
buildings they have the whole upper
air free of every obstacle and though
their flight sometimes equals the speed
OF a railroad train they have little to
rear when well above ground. Collision
with other birds seems scarcely posi-
Die, but 1t sometimes occurs. When u
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 in
sect will now n then come together.
but not hard enough to injure either
bird. In the English papers a few
years ago a rare accident was record
ed heron had spiked itself on one Of
the pointed iron arms of a cross sur
mounting a church steeple. Even the
smallest and most wonderful of all fly
ers, the humming bird, may come to
grief in accidental ways, as was re-
Gently shown by the case Of a tiny bird
of the ruby-throated variety, which be-
came entangled in the hooks Of a bur
dock burr and died a prisoner before
help could free it.
Young phoebes sometimes become
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
traps are set in the snow in winter
owls frequently fail victims, mice being
scarce and the bait tempting.
Lighthouses are perhaps the cause Of
more accidents to birds thar any other
obstacle they encounter on their noe
turnal migrations north and south.
Many hundreds are found dead at the
base of such structures. The sudden
glare is confusing n binding as they
shoot from intense darkness into its
circle of radiance that they are COM
pletely bewildered and dash headlong
against the thick panes Of glass. Tele-
graph wires are another menace to low
flying birds, especially those which.
like quail and woodcock, enjoy a whirl-
wind and attain 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 sud-
den wind or storm will drive coast-hy-
ing birds hundreds 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 innum-
cradle birds, as well as other creatures,
Small islands are known to have be-
come completely depopulated Of their
feathered inhabitants from such a
cause. Violent lailstorms, coming
without warning in warm weather,
are quite common agents in the de-
struction OF birds and thousands OF
English sparrows have been stricken
in a city during such storms.
Rufied grouse have a habit Of bur-
rowing deep beneath the snow in win
ter and letting the storm shu them ii.
They spend the night in this warm,
cozy retreat, their breath making its
way through the loosely packed crys-5
tails. But this becomes a fatal trap
when a cold rain sets in during the
night and an impenetrable crust cuts
off their means OF escape.