The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-09-11
AMERICAN CRANES
 MAY BE WIPED OUT
Other Valuable Game Birds Of
 The Same Family In Need of Protection.
3, 900 BIRDS KILLED IN ONE DAY.
Slaughter of Rail On One Small
 Marsh In A Southern State

The white crane, one of the most striking of North American birds, once seen in great numbers on o11r prairies, is now almost extinct. Those individuals of smaller species, the sandhiH crane, which nest in Florida, also seem doomed. Owing to their harmless habits, economic worth and the danger to which they are sub ject, the United States department of agriculture's biologist thinks that all cranes should be carefully protected. Other members of the same ia n1i1y also are in need of protective state, legislation; otherwise they will soon be creatures of the past like the white crane.
 The Carolina rail, or sora, a bird a1- lied to the crane, has existed until re- centIy in great numbers in the marsh es of the Atlantic states. It la so highly prized as table delicacy that it is slaughtered in great numbers As many as 5000 have been shot iii single day on 8 marsh of 500f acres. It is absolutely harmless, breeds only in places not suited for agricultural purposes, and, if given a fair chance, will survive as a. game bird long af- ter many others have been compelled to give way before the advance of az rfculture. Immediate steps should be taken by the states to decrease the bag limit for the sora.
 lhS Ta1lS are marsh or neadOW- breeding birds, and differ from the cranes in appearance and habits, aI- though they belong to the same fam fly. There are valuable rails besides the sora, some of which can prob ably maintain their numbers in spite of persecution since they are secre- tive and spend most of their time well concealed in rank swamp veg- etation. Rails breeding in salt marshes, however, need more effec- tive protection, although they are not in as much danger as the sora. The department's biologist thinks that they should be allowed to breed in peace, and that the robbing of their nests, particularly of cIapper rails should be prohibited.
 The coot is a member of the rail family and has a wide range over the United States. Although it is much despised by many hunters who class it with the crow as food bird, nev- ertheless, under some conditions, it is a de1icacy. After this bird has been fattened on wild rice, which is the best of all duck foods, it appeals much more to the taste than when it has fed for many weeks on the an- fmal life of the saltwater marshes
 There are 21 kinds of rails and their cousins, the cranes, coots and ga1linules. in the United States. Some are migratory and some are not
 
 regard to the powers of flight of cer- tain of these birds. The sora's flight is so slow and labored that the bird seems unable to fly long distances and some writers have even suppos- ed that it><performed it's migration on foot As matter of fact, the sora often travels not less than 2,5OO miles and sometimes as much as 5000, Great numbers of them make the hundred mile flight between Florida and Cuba, and there is every reason to believe that some easily cover, the 5oO-mile passage from Florida to Yu- catan.
 Precise information as to the ran. ges of the North American cranes, rails and others of this family is giv- en in a new bulletin of the United States department of agriculture This Is a. professional paper, and is hardly of general interest. However, it furnishes data that should be val