THE xVXLMAL LIFE OF THE OROUP. 305 



in o-eneral color is ;i -warm cliocolatc ])i'o-\vii. Wlicti a .speeimon is in liaiid it 

 will be found that cacii t'catlicf over tiie hack is iiiai'kcd hy a iiaiTnw wliiti- 

 shaft line. All three of these s|)ai'i'ow-like l)irds feed af ccrlaiti seasons dii the 

 <:'ultivated rice — a fact that has pi'odueed nnudi confusion in the ])opiiiar juind 

 as to just which species is in reality entitled to Ix- caUcd the i ice bird. 



The combined danniLic tiiat these birds do to the <_;ro\\inj4' jji-ain I'luni tlie 

 fime the kernels of rice bet>'in to form in tiie licads until the crop is finally 

 harvested, amounts to many thousands of dollars annually. The rice fai'iners 

 patrol their fields during this season, from early morning' until sundown, dis- 

 charging "rice guns," shouting and conducting a genei-al ciMisade a'.^ainst the 

 l3irds. Many Chinese farmers set up scarecrows, to which windmills and noise- 

 making devices are attached, to guard the i-ipening ci*o}). <)thei-s will inge- 

 niously run stout wire supported above the grain on l)aml)oo poles, over an 

 entire field of grain. From these dangle a motley arra\' of old tin cans, 

 clappers and other noise-producing junk. The free ends of all of the main 

 wires center at a conveniently-placed elevated platform from which the fannei' 

 keeps a sharp lookout for the feathered despoilers of his harvest. Just as the 

 tiock alights on the drooping heads of grain, the farmer pulls the main wire 

 that runs to the place under attack. The neighborhood resounds with the 

 din, with the result that the intruders fly to some other spot. Avhere the same 

 form of repulse is resorted to. In a short time the birds And that they are 

 more scared than hurt by the noise, and become more and more l)old. often 

 standing their ground without wavering through the veritable pantleinonium. 

 The writer has watched with nuich interest the development of courage among 

 these uninvited and unwelcome bird guests, and doubts whether much is gained 

 in the long run by this form of warfare, save the satisfaction to the fai'iner of 

 doing something to protect his crop. 



Chinese Turtle-Dove. - 



The Chinese turtle-dove,^ as its name suggests, came originally fi-om 

 China. It is another introduced bird that is abundant in the i-ice fields, more 

 especially after the crop has been gathered. 'J'hey then visit the fields in pairs 

 or in small flocks to glean the scattered grain that may he left after the frugal 

 Chinese farmers' wives have gathered in the last straws left lying on the 

 ground by the harvest-men. 



Dove shooting is said to be real sport in Hawaii, and thosi' who indulL:i' in 

 it as such are always anxious for the open season to begin. .\n e\i)ert 

 marksman, in the height of the season, will secure a hag of lifty oi- sixty birds 

 in a single day. Though the dove is modest and rt'tiring, its inourni'nl call 

 is not an unconnnon sound in the city: the flat, loosely-constructed nest in 

 which two white eggs are laid, is occasionally Found ni the trees and shruhs 

 forming the tropical tangle that often surrctunds the Hawaiian home. 



^ Turtiir ( Spild/ictia ) clihii'nKis. 



