The Bulletin. 9 



by thoughtless men for no better reason than that, when sitting 

 motionless, they offer an easy target for the small rifle or, flying, 

 present a tempting mark for the shotgun. So far has popular mis- 

 apprehension in regard to these birds gone that again and again 

 States and counties have offered bounties for their heads, thus deplet- 

 ing treasuries and inviting heavy losses to the farmer through the 

 increased number of insects and rodents which it is the function of 

 these birds to hold in check." 



The "Audubon Law" now protects at all times every wild bird in 

 the State, also its nest, except game birds in their season, and the 

 following exceptions: English sparrows, hawks, owls, crows, black- 

 birds, towhees and ricebirds. In days to come, when a more general 

 knowledge of the true importance of birds to the farmer is pos- 

 sessed by the people of North Carolina, many of these birds will be 

 protected by statute and by the still stronger law of public sentiment. 



Bobwhite: Quail: Partridge: (Colinus Virginianus). 



Male— Upper parts reddish brown, with broken bands of black; rump gray- 

 ish brown, finely mottled and with streaks of blackish ; tail gray, inner feath- 

 ers with markings of buff ; front of head, a band beneath the eye and line on 

 upper breast black ; throat and band over the eye white ; sides chestnut, with 

 margins of black and white; belly white, barred with black. 



demote— Similar, but with throat, forehead, and line over eye buffy. In 

 summer both sexes have crown blacker and buffy markings are paler. 



Range. — Eastern North America from Maine to Mexico. 



Nest. — On the ground in grassy fields or open woods. 



Eggs. — White, ten to twenty. 



* 



The most popular as well as the most important game bird in North 

 Carolina is without doubt the Bobwhite. Probably more men in the 

 State engage in hunting this bird than are employed in shooting all 

 other kinds of wild birds and animals. Immense numbers are killed 

 every year and sold in the local markets, and many persons, espe- 

 cially in years gone by, have found a profitable business in smuggling 

 them, in violation of the laws, to Northern cities. The shooting 

 privileges over large tracts of land in some sections are leased by 

 sportsmen, the farmers receiving in return a remuneration sufficient 

 to pay all their taxes and in many instances considerably more. Over 

 one hundred and eighty thousand acres in Guilford County alone 

 are thus under lease at the present time, and the amount of taxes 

 paid for the shooting rights exceeds $8,000 annually. The lessees 

 kill comparatively few birds, and it is a matter of common observa- 

 tion that the Partridge is far more abundant on leased lands than on 

 the adjoining farms where the birds are afforded less protection. 



The Bobwhite is a great destroyer of insects during the warm 

 months. He is very fond of the chinch-bug, which annually levies a 

 tremendous tribute from the farmers of America. Two tablespoon- 

 fuls of chinch-bugs have been found in the crop of one bird. Grass- 

 hoppers are credited with doing an annual damage of $90,000,000 to 



