The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-04-18
FEW PIGEONS NOW.
THEY HAVE BEEN ALMOST EX-
 TERMINATED IN LATE YEARS.

Against Them-Amerlcnn Wild Pi-
 geon Found in No Other Country
 South Carolina Paroquet Another
 Bird That Has Become All But Ex-
 tinct.
 A Washington special to the Kansas
 City Journal says: What has become
 of the millions of wild pigeons which
 once infested the country?" repeated
 Curator of Birds Ridgeway, of the
 Smithsonian Institution, to-day, in re-
 ply to query. ''The question is not
 only important to sportsmen, but
 ornithologistS have of late years be-
 come greatly interested in the subject.
 A short answer to the question is that
 the wild pigeon has become almost eX-
 tinct in this country. Thirty years ago,
 or more, wild pigeons were so plenty
 and committed so much damage to newly sown wheat, that they became a
 great nuisance. The air, at times, was
 darkened with their flight and once
 heard my father say that at one time he
 had known them to be so numerous in certain parts of Ohio as to shut out the
 sunlight for three da".> time.
 "Sportsmen, farme ? and others com
 bined against the wild pigeon and waged a war of extermination on him with guns and nets, until to-day a wild pigeon is almost as hard to find as hens tooth. The breeding haunts of the wild pigeon were also invaded, and thousands of eggs and newly matched pigeons were destroyed. A broiled pigeon is fine eating, but it is probable that of the vast numbers killed only a small percentage found it's way to the table,. The habitat of the wild pigeon is in the forestal regions of Eastern North America, or east of the Rockies. Its center of circumference is where the beech nuts grow abundantly. The pigeon is also fond of feeding on the acorns of pinoaks, and the shack of other varieties of the oak. I have shot pigeons so full of acorns that they could not shut their mouths. The last wild pigeons I saw near Laurel, Md, in the early '70s. A personal friends shot three or four in and about the same vicinity in the fall of 1885, since which time, as far as I have been able to ascertain, one has been seen in that locality.
 Tt was about this time that great concern was manifested among sports men about the disappearance of the wild pigeon, and the specimens secured were prepared and placed in the institu- tion. From time to time this depart rnent has been flooded with inquiries as to the cause of the scarcity of pigeons, and at one period the crush of inquiries was so great that we were inclined to issue a general circular upon the subject
 "The American wild pigeon is found in no other country. He belongs to the first families of birds, because he was here to begin with. Other lands have pigeons, but they differ widely in size, plunlage and symmetry. His body is long and rakish looking, is built on speed lines, and he is actually the swift est thing that flies. His tail is long and wedge shaped, and his plumage daz- zles one with it's richness of coloring. Many persons rest under the impress sion that the dove is descended from the pigeon. The dove belongs to the same species, but has 8 broad tail. There are several varieties of doves, which de- monstrates that the dove and pigeon are not the same. The American wild pigeon is in class by himself. He pos- sesses a wonderful flight of speed. He is the express of the air, while the wild goose, in spite Of all that has been said in his favor in the matter of speed, is the freight train. I have no idea how far a wild goose or pigeon can fly in a l day, and, as a matter of fact, I think ! the flight of birds has been very much ! exaggerated. anyway.
 Another bird that is almost. if not l quite extinct, is the South Carolina | paroquet, a species of native parrot l This bird is also indigenous, and at one l time was almost as widely distributed l as the pigeon. He could be found l few years since in certain parts of ! Florida. I discovered a covey on Tay- l lor's creek a few years ago. The spot 1 named is where General Taylor fought l the Seminotes. The peculiarity of the 1 bird is that when wounded he emits a l scream, when his mates will come to his 1 rescue, and will hover around him until 1 the last one of them is shot down.
 IIlE pdTOQuGI l0GuS on corn III the ! milk and fruit, and at one time became 1 as great a pest as the famous ricebird 1
 'The wild goose is holding his own | fairly we'll. He is not highly esteemed i as a game bird, and commits compara- lively little damage to crops. His flights are usually made in the night, and his powers of endurance are not exaggera- ted, but his speed is. As the nesting season approaches the waters of the great Northern lakes are alive with them. They go North as far as Alaska, and explorers relate in their reports that millions of them inhabit the North ern waters in summer. The wild goose 1 can be domesticated, but with difficulty. When the time for flight arrives he is likely to join his brethren, unless his wings are clipped.
 "The California vulture was at one time also in great danger of extinction. Wolves in certain parts of California had been playing havoc with herds of sheep in the state, and herders, in revenge, poisoned the carcasses of the sheep. As the vulture is a carrion bird 1 dead mutton was right in his line, and so many were killed that it was a long time before they again became common. The California vulture is almost the equal in size and length of wing of the