ORNITHOLOGY 



301 



Florida Should Wake up to Her Duties 

 in Bird Conservation. 



The nearly successful attempt to se- 

 cure the establishment of a State Game 

 Commission in Florida during the past 

 season, was unfortunately blocked by 

 the Governor, who vetoed the measure 

 after it had passed both Houses in the 

 Legislature. 



This state, with its myriads of water- 

 fowl and marsh birds : sheltering, as 

 it does, many of our northern birds 

 throughout the winter months, and be- 

 ing in the path of many more of our 

 migrating species, is an important one 

 to the bird-lover and conservationist, 

 and it is high time that better laws for 

 bird protection were enacted here. 



Most of the conservation work which 

 has been done here, including the pro- 

 tecting of the great egret and heron 

 rookeries which would otherwise have 

 been destroyed, seems to have been 

 accomplished at the expense and 

 through the efforts of bird-lovers out- 

 side the state, and it would seem only 

 fair for the state which reaps most of 

 the benefit to at least support and help 

 this work by proper laws and by the 

 establishing of a Game Commission to 

 enforce them. 



Florida is now a winter playground 

 for thousands of people from all over 

 the country, and it seems highly im- 

 portant to have adequate laws for the 

 protection of the wild life of this state, 

 especially as the conservation of this 

 wild life so vitally affects the inhabi- 

 tants of other states and the good work 

 which they are trying to do. 



society have made thousands of new 

 converts in the interest of bird pro- 

 tection and conservation, thus aiding 

 materially in both a moral and financial 

 way the society's work during the past 

 season. 



In addition to Mr. Herbert K. Job's 

 well-known work in his Department 

 of Applied Ornithology, he has added, 

 during the past season, to his valuable 

 bird photographs another thousand 

 feet of motion picture film, showing 

 work in the propagation of water-fowl 

 at the association's Bird Experiment 

 Station at Amston, Conn., besides 

 many interesting phases of the home 

 life of several wild species not hither- 

 to shown. 



Audubon Society Work. 



Forty-six wardens have been em- 

 ployed during the past year to guard 

 the various rookeries and protected 

 sanctuaries under the supervision of 

 the Audubon Societies. Reports from 

 these wardens show that more than a 

 million water-birds bred in these pro- 

 tected areas during 1917. 



A regular course in wild life con- 

 servation has been established at Cor- 

 nell University, New York, a bill in 

 the legislature appropriating $15,000.00 

 for this purpose having been passed. 



The many lectures and course of 

 study conducted by field agents of the 



The Weed-seed Eaters. 



During the winter months our north- 

 eastern states are usually visited by 

 several species of birds which would 

 not, at first thought, be supposed to be 

 of any special economic value. Aside, 

 however, from enlivening the winter 

 landscape, which all of these birds do, 

 many of them perform a real service 

 to mankind.. Chief among these is 

 the tree sparrow, whose diet is com- 

 posed principally of weed seeds. Flocks 

 of these birds are common sights along 

 our country roadsides and pastures 

 from November to April, and investi- 

 gation has shown that they prove of in- 

 calculable value in destroying the seeds 

 of noxious weeds. 



This species alone has been estimat- 

 ed to destroy no less than eight hun- 

 dred and seventy-five tons of weed- 

 seed annually in the state of Iowa. 

 Snow buntings, usually abundant 

 along the coast and often wandering in- 

 land to a considerable distance, are 

 also very beneficial in this respect, a 

 thousand seeds of the pig-weed having 

 been found in the stomach of a single 

 one of these birds. Mourning doves 

 and bobwhites are also efficient weed- 

 seed eaters, and our common goldfinch 

 at this season depends largely upon 

 such diet for its food supply. 



How welcome to the winter-weary folk, 

 The first up-springing green, or bird-note 

 sweet! 

 A harbinger of longed-for summer joys, 

 Of all that she alone lays at our feet. 



— Emma Peirce. 



