108 



TlIK OSPRKY, 



meats, and commeud tliem to the consideration 

 of all so-called scientitic collectoi-s. 

 Yours respectfully, 



An iNDIGNAiSX BlBD-LoVEK. 

 (Mrs. \V. H. Wnitaker.) 



A^CONUNDRUM. 



Providence, K. 1., Feu. G, is99. 

 Editor of The Osprey: 



We are rather queerly situated as regards 

 collectors, 'there are, within a radius of ten 

 miles of I'roMdence but three active ornitholo- 

 gists, and what little new is found is Ijy these 

 three. The birds are, no doubt, thankful that 

 there are no more. Three are enough, any- 

 way. What we want is less collecting for 

 greed and more observation and photography 

 of our feathered friends in their hauuts and 

 homes. The Auilubon Society is gaining ground 

 and showing its influence. \\ hy, the otlier 

 night, they had Urother Chapman, from the 

 American Museum, here to lecture, and it 

 poured such buckets of water that X wore ioug- 

 legged rubber boots. What was my surprise 

 to see in the hall over a hundred people, three- 

 quarters of them ladies. Five years ago we 

 could not have got live people out to such a 

 lecture on a fine night, i'eople are waking uj' 

 and commencing to see what is going on 

 around them in the treetojjs. Let the good 

 work go on! 



A class of so-called "sportsmen" are doing 

 more harm in lihode Island (and I suppose in 

 other States also) than all others put together. 

 From the time the game law is otf until it goes 

 into effect again you find them afield with dog 

 and guti. Well, the day passes and maybe they 

 get a quail or two; then, becoming disgruntled 

 because they have not killed forty or fifty 

 birds, they commence to shoot everjthing with 

 feathers on that is within range, and numbers 

 of sparrows, robins, jays and small birds are 

 blown to i^ieces. Then the shooter laughs and 

 says to his companion: "Gosh! I just let day- 

 light in all over him," as he throws the 

 mangled remains awaj-. I have witnessed such 

 a scene, and the dogs even have looked up at 

 the shooter, saying: "What a beast!" with 

 their intelligent eyes. To kill off this class of 

 "sports" is a conundrum. The only way that 

 T can see is to breed the bad points out of our- 

 selves, and show our progeny what is right. 

 Until then the birds will have to suffer. 

 Yours truly. 



H. S. Hathaway. 



BUZZARDS AS SCAVENGERS. 



Fayetteville. N. C, Feb. 13, 1S99. 

 Edhor of The Osphey: 



"Where the carcass is there the eagles are 

 gathered together." This is the observation of 

 an old Scripture writer. Buzzards more so! 

 It is remarkable what a trifling incentive will 

 draw a large congregation of buzzards. At a 

 given moment, we will say, not one of these 

 birds may be in sight, but let an animal drop 

 dead, from any cause, or be even mortally 

 wounded, and at once scores of the dismal 

 scavengers will be discovered approaching 

 from all directions. For example, here in Fay- 



etteville we see only two or three gyrating in 

 the U[)per air at any one time, aimlessly and 

 idly, to all appearance; but the other day a 

 neighbor's horse died and his carcass was 

 hauled into a cane-brake near the edge of a 

 ej'press swamp. Before night all the adjacent 

 trees were black with buzzards. They sat so 

 close that the limbs broke with the weight. 

 All day they feasted on the defunct animal, and 

 a. night they roosted. I counted the birds on 

 one tree, and then multiplied the gang by the 

 numl)er of other trees near by, and figured out 

 seven hundred. That was as many as the car- 

 cass would provide rations for at one pound 

 of meat pet- diem for two days running, and a 

 buzzard is good for five pounds. In two days 

 there was not a vestige of meat left, and all 

 the softer bones «'ere consumed! Henceforth 

 that locality is likely to be known as "Buz- 

 zard's Roost," but anyone passing thirty years 

 hence will not be likely to discover any signs 

 of it. By the way, we have the carrion crow- 

 here, as well as tlie buzzard, in large represen- 

 tation. He has white plume feathers on his 

 wings and a black feathered neck. The buz- 

 zard (of the vulture group) has a neck which 

 somewhat resembles a turkey's, hence the so- 

 briquet of turkey-buzzard. 



1 might mention another instance of the vo- 

 racity of these rapacious fowls, which sail so 

 harndessly and gracefully in the blue ether 

 above our heads, while we doze in the sun. 

 Does anyone imagine that if he were to drop 

 sviddenly of heart failure, for instance, in some 

 untenanted locality, his body would long re- 

 main undisturbed? I will answer by an ilhis- 

 tration: Your senior editor will recall that in 

 the year 1874 I took the Irish Kifle Team, which 

 shot the Creedmoor match, down into the In- 

 dian Territory, then colloquially known as 

 "I'he Nation, ■" for a deer hunt. There were 

 thirteen of us in the party, headed by George 

 Donnan, of Hannibal, JIo., and Captain Andrew 

 Case and Bob Orme, of Oketopa, Kansas, a 

 town just on the border, where we fitted out. 

 A story full of ginger might have been written 

 about Uiat hunt at the time of it, but it is past 

 date now. Suflftee it to say, that, after a re- 

 connoissance, we made for the Old Cabin Creek 

 Ixittom and put up several deer there. We 

 luinted both sides of the creek. All of us were 

 mounted, and if a deer were wounded he in- 

 \ai-iably put off around through the adjacent 

 hollows formed by the rolling pairie country, 

 while we would ride in the other direction to 

 head hinuoft' as he came around, which he was 

 sure to do, for no animal of the chase, be it 

 fox, wolf or rabbit, ever runs straight away, as 

 experienced hunters all know, but they have 

 their courses and run in circles. So, chancing 

 to wound a big seven-tine buck, which made off 

 after the habit of his kind, arovind a high knoll, 

 we spurred away to the left. We were not im- 

 mediately sure of the effect of our shots, but 

 when we saw the buzzards begin to gather we 

 knew he was hard hit. When the deer started 

 there was hardly a single buzzard in sight, but 

 we had run hardly five minutes oefore the sky 

 was clouded with their black forms, and when, 

 finally, they all massed and settled down on 

 one spot, we knew that our deer was down. 



