GAME BIRDS AS PETS 



BY A. A. ALLEN, CORNELL UNIVERSITY 



ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ORNITHOLOGY, CORNELL UNIVERSITY 



EVERY year in this country several million hunters 

 start out in search of game birds. As often as 

 October reddens the hills and browns the marshes, 

 men in khaki appear with their guns and the annual pil- 

 grimage to the woods and the lake shore begins. The 



A CANVASBACK BEING FED BY HAND. THIS IS JUST ONE INDICATION OF THE 

 MANY PLEASURES TO BE HAD FROM RAISING WILD WATERFOWL ON ONE'S OWN POND 

 THEY GRADUALLY LOSE ALMOST ENTIRELY THEIR INNATE FEAR OF MAN. 



whir of the grouse, the crackling of the pheasants, the 

 bleating of the snipe, and the whistling wings of the 

 waterfowl combine to hypnotize most red-blooded Ameri- 

 cans and lure them forth from 

 business and profession for a 

 day or a week's vacation in the 

 great out-doors. The tramp 

 through the woods fragrant with 

 witch hazel, the pull with the 

 oars through the marshes, the 

 simple living while roughing it, 

 and above all, the excitement of 

 matching one's wits against those 

 of the wild folk, furnish that 

 form of recreation that gives 

 new life to the tired business 

 man and causes him to start 

 anew. Year after year the same 

 man goes back to the same place 

 and perhaps hunts the same 

 birds, and each year his experi- 

 ence grows richer, though he 

 often brings back less game. His 

 first years in the woods were 

 spent entirely in the quest to kill 



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and he learned but little except how poorly he could 

 shoot. But as the years have gone by and his respect for 

 wild life has increased, he has often allowed a wise old 

 grouse to rise without firing and may even follow the 

 same bird for hours at a time from the mere enjoyment 

 of watching it and studying its 

 various moods and ways of 

 meeting or avoiding his ap- 

 proach. And finally he has be- 

 gun to long for their company at 

 other times than during the few 

 hours in which he is hunting 

 them. If he has a few acres of 

 land about his home he likes to 

 make it the home of game birds, 

 and if he is fortunate enough to 

 have a stream or a pond, he 

 longs to see it dotted with his 

 favorite waterfowl. 



Long association with them 

 has made them seem like chil- 

 dren to him and he enjoys their 

 every mood. It is now not only 

 their quest that fascinates him 

 but their activities throughout 

 the year. He loves to sit on 

 his porch and hear the grouse 

 drumming in the copse near by ; 

 he enjoys watching the gorgeous 

 cock pheasant strut across his lawn or the dainty bob- 

 white lead her brood of youngsters through his garden. 

 The whistle of the duck's wings as they circle over his 



IT IS A DELIGHT TO SEE ONE'S OWN PHEASANTS STRUTTING WITH GREAT PRIDE ACROSS 

 ONE'S LAWN, AND THEY ARE QUITE EASY TO REAR IN SMALL NUMBERS. 



