OUR VANISHING SHOREBIRDS. 9 



SUMMARY. 



Shorebirds have been hunted until only a remnant of their once 

 vast numbers is left. Their limited powers of reproduction, coupled 

 with the natural vicissitudes of the breeding period, make their in- 

 crease slow, and peculiarly expose them to danger of extermination. 



In the way of protection a beginning has been made, and a con- 

 tinuous close season until 1915 has been established for the follow- 

 ing birds : The killdeer, in Massachusetts and Louisiana ; the upland 

 plover, in Massachusetts and Vermont; and the piping plover, in 

 Massachusetts. But, considering the needs and value of these birds, 

 this modicum of protection is small indeed. 



The above-named species are not the only ones that should be 

 exempt from persecution, for all the shorebirds of the United States 

 are in great need of better protection. They should be protected, 

 first, to save them from the danger of extermination, and, second, 

 because of their economic importance. So great, indeed, is their 

 economic value, that their retention on the game list and their de- 

 struction by sportsmen is a serious loss to agriculture. 



Approved : 



JAMES WILSON, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 

 WASHINGTON, D. C., February 9, 1911. 



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