GAME BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA 



DECREASE OF GAME AND ITS CAUSES 



It is easy to make statements to the effect that game has either 

 increased or decreased ; but to find reliable figures with which to sub- 

 stantiate such statements is well-nigh impossible. Yet the material 

 gathered under this heading, even though fragmentary, seems not 

 unworthy of consideration. The evidence we have been able to obtain 

 may be grouped under four headings: the judgments of dependable 

 observers; the records of the kills of waterfowl on gun-club grounds; 

 the records of market sales and shipments of game ; and the toll taken 

 by various agencies, natural as well as artificial. 



The decrease in the numbers of game birds in California began 

 to arouse comment more than thirty-five years ago. In 1880 that 

 pioneer ornithologist, Dr. J. G. Cooper, stated (1880, p. 243) that 

 game birds had already "very much diminished" locally. In his 

 opinion this reduction was due to "persecution by the gun," and to 

 poisoned grain intended for "vermin" (probably squirrels and 

 gophers). 



In 1913 letters of inquiry on this subject were sent out from the 

 Museum of Vertebrate Zoology to responsible observers throughout 

 the State. Questions were asked as to the status of ducks and geese, 

 shore birds, quail, and other game birds. Seventy replies were 

 received, representing twenty-seven counties of the State. Many of 

 these reports covered periods of ten to forty years, and one observer 

 stated that he had kept track of game conditions for sixty-one years. 



A compilation of these reports showed that sixty-eight of the 

 seventy observers had noted a decrease in ducks and geese. The other 

 two reported that these birds were "holding their own." Not one 

 reported an increase! The estimates of the decrease in ducks ranged 

 from twenty-five per cent to ninety-nine per cent, and average close 

 to fifty per cent. The same observers agreed in reporting the greatest 

 decrease in the ease of geese ; six stated that the birds had entirely 

 disappeared from their accustomed localities, and five said that they 

 were now seldom seen. The percentages of decrease for geese were 

 given as fifty per cent and more, the average being about seventy-five 

 per cent. 



Forty-one reports on the status of quail showed a considerably 

 smaller decrease. Thirty-six observers reported a decrease, four 

 stated that the birds were "holding their own," and one reported an 

 increase. Of eleven reports relative to the Mourning Dove, seven indi- 



