Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-28
THE PASSENGER PIGEON

Three decades ago passenger pigeons
were numerous, especially in Michigan;
today the species seems to be extinct.
For the man who can furnish informa-
tion enabling experienced ornitholo-
gists to find one nesting pair there
awaits a reward of $400. Prof. C. f.
Hodge of Clark university, Worchester,
Mass, has charge of this award for the
American Oorithelogists' union.
Contrasting the records of the former
abundance and present scarcity of this
interesting species of pigeon taxes the
Imagination to it's limit, writes A. II.
Cole in The World Today. About
century ago, Alexander Wilson, a great
authority on American birds, estimated
that there were more than 1920, 600
passenger pigeons in one flock which
he saw. About a century earlier, 1857,
Baron de la Hontan wrote that this
species was so numerous and so
swarmed and ravaged the colonists'
crops near Montreal that a bishop was
constrained to exercise them with
holy water, as If they had be de-
MONS"
Coming to later and more definite
data, we have the account of William
Brewster's study of the habits of the
pigeons in Michigan, as published in
The AUX in 1889. On their arrival in
the north in the spring the pigeons Sc
lected well wooded regions in which to
build their nests. What is known as
the great Petoskey nesting, In 1876 or
1877, covered an area 2S miles long and
from three to four wide. Brewster says
that "for the entire % miles every tree
of any size had more or less nests, and
many trees were filed with them"
"a. IL 10
pigeons covering about 100 square miles
of woodland with their nests, and that
each nest contained one or two young
which needed an abundance of food,
Baron Hontan's account of the de-
Vastation of the crops Is believable. The
daily search for food gave the meters
an opportunity, which they used with
profit. Each of the 500 netters near
Petoskey, who set his decoy pigeons.
baited his beds and hauled his nets
over the hungry birds, considered 500
or 600 birds a good 'strike," and this
might be repeated three or more times
in a day for weeks. When the young
pigeons began to fly they were trapped
in large lattice-work structures, in
which several dozens of old pigeons
were confined as decoys. Nets were
drawn over the exits, and Brewster
states that "over 400 dozen young pig
cons were known to have been taken at
once by this method" 1t was estimated
that each netter averaged 10000 pigeons
apiece in a season, during which daily
shipments of one or two carloads were
sent from one station to cities farther
south.
The mystery of the disappearance of
the fiocks that broke down trees by
their weight in their roosting places
and darkened the sun like a thick
cloud for hours when they passed in
their migration, Is partially solved by
the story of theiE~butchery by the net
ters. The more general clearing of the
country and the destruction of their
breeding places may have hastened
their end. The theory that they
changed the course of their migration
has no observations to support it. and
such fiocks in new localities would
certainly be reported. Thirty years ago
passenger pigeons could be bought in
the markets for few cents each. Now,
$500 awaits the fortunate discoverer of
a nesting pair. The unnumbered bill
lions OF Americas finest pigeons have
disappeared, and Some of the best au-
thorities fear Il - there is not one live
passenger pigeon on the continent.
What a contrast! What a pity that
they were not adequately protectded.
--4SA