The Elbert County tribune., 1908-09-10

signal for taking down the shotgun
whose coming now is hailed and
whose companionship is cultivated.
The kingbIrd (tyrannus tyrannus).
once killed on sight by every farmer
who had a hive OF bees on his place.
Is now allowed to perch unmolested
above the dome-shaped homes OF the
honey-makers.
OF the country the tyrant flycatcher.
lives almost wholly on winged insects
of the injurious kind 1t also has an
appetite for bees. and 1t was this
marked taste that made trouble for
the bird Its numbers began to d.
minish under persecution, and then
some of the members of Uncle Sans
biological survey who had suspicion
that the kingbirt was being treated
badly, began an investigation. II was
necessary to be cruel to some hun
dreds of individuals in order to be
kind to the entire family Kingbirds
were killed and their stomachs were
examined. 1t was found that nearly
everything they ate was something
which. Living. was inimical to the farm
er's interest Bees were found in some
numbers in the stomach. but strangely
enough the kingbirds had distfn-
guished between bees and bees. SO
to speak. and had left the workers
alone to dine off the worthless drones.
When this statement of the authori-
ties was published in bulletin form
by the government the bee-keepers
thought the matter was huge joke
tls.x.s. <.F
the scientists. The bee men were In
duced to do little Investigating
themselves. and after a few months
close observation they were willing
to let Tyrannus stay unmolested on
his perch above the hives. The king
bird is the farms policeman. He is
the deadly enemy of the thieving
crow and the marauding hawk. He
fearlessly attacks and drives away the
cornfleld pest and the poultry yard
assassin.
There is a bird OF the sky which the
government of the United States re-
CARDS so favorably that there recently
has been issued and sent broadcast
through the land a special plea for its
protection. This bird in the northern
states. for practically the whole
breadth of the continent. is known as
the nighthawk (chordeiles virginian-
us), while in the south 1t is called the
bull bat. The nighthawks are resi-
dents both OF the city and country.
They may be heard after sundown
emitting a peculiar suueaking note far
up above the Office buildings of the
great busy towns. 1t is only within
comparatively recent years that the
nighthawks have shown liking for
city life. They have found in gravel
covered roofs fair substitute for the
stony country field in which in former
years they made their nests. Their
eggs are now found frequently upon
the roofs of office buildings in all the
large cities of the country.
The nighthawk zigzags its way
across the sky in flight that it
makes the head swim to watch 1t has
long wings and is thickly feathered. a
circumstance which gives 1t an appear
ance of size that is not real.
In reporting on this bird the gov
ernment expert said: This enormous
stomach must be kept filed to supply
motive power for the long wings.
| which auo hepe III hoIoh so indhy
hours. The food consists Of insects
taken on the wing and the bird fills
its great stomach almost to breaking.
The wholesale killing Of the night
hawks entails an almost incalculable
injury upon agricultural interests
The instances which have been CIV
en- are sufficient to show the necessity
for the preservation of certain forms
OF the bird life of the United States.
The examples of the birds usefulness