The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-03-13
Bay-bird Shooting
By J. w. SHUTS, M. D.

/ At times the firing is so rapid that one
might imagine himself in the heat of bat
! tie, where the firing was by company, and
added TO the din was the snorting, roar
! ing and tramping of the horses, mingled
with the cries of the wounded birds And
how. after a lapse of nearly a quarter OF
a century, cannot recall these incidents
without the deepest feeling of self con-
! demnation, and have never in all my life
been able to formulate any plausible eX-
| cuse for my part taken in this slaughter.
! In the internal regions the owl is pictured
as a grid of torment. but 1 am satisfied
| that mine viii be a eurlew with asbestos
wings.
! The shooting of the surf birds does not
| possess much pleasure for frst-class
wing shot, for they feed on the sandy
| beach and will not allow the hunter to
| approach them very closely. Nearly all
the shots must be taken at a rise of thirty
watch the avocet as he takes his food
from the sandy beach, with his long. thin
| legs, and body of light brown and white,
the white predominating, and the dexter
Gus manner with which he handles him
self. AS he chases some insect seward
he seems TO meet the water unexpectedly.
when he will suddenly throw up his white
wings and rush back and utter a faint
twitter that reminds one of a vevy of little
girls in short dresses playing on the
beach
In the inlets of brakish water are to be
found both salt and fresh water ducks
and often in and around these inlets YOU
win find an excellent bird for the table.
in fact a deIicacy, and his habits viii
seem peculiar to you. He is called the
Florida gallanule. In color he is nearly
identical with the mud-hen or coot This
bird does not rely wholly on his wings
for fight. for he is a first-class runner
In size he is about that of a coot, legs
long and dark, with scarlet stripe run
ming around the legs just above the
knees. His toes are remarkably long and
slim, having a spread Of seven inches. The
surface of these inlets is covered with
growth of vegetation resembling lily pads,
and the leaves do not grow quite TO the
surface of the water The leaves are
round and in size from ten to fifteen inch
es in diameter. When this bird is flushed
he starts with out-stretched neck, wings
partially extended, body bent forward and
has the appearance Of running on the wa
ter. He strikes the center of the leaf with
the spread of toes with great precision
and rapidity. L viii never forget the re-
mark of an old darkey who was punting
me through one Of these sloughs when
gill, as the negroes call them, sprang from
his cover and. took across the pond at
breakneck speed. The darkey said. DOC
tab, look at dat bird. He ac' jis like de
Sawyer; he walk right on de watah." In
shooting this bird do not wait for him to
take wing, for he may not do so and you
will not be considered pot hunter if you
take him on the run.
The family rallidae. or rails. is a num-
erous one After many seasons spent on
the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and as far
south as the caribbean sea. ] have found
the rails most abundant on the coast of
North Carolina. especially in early au-
tumn. They inhabit all temperate coasts