22 REPORT OF BOARD OP FISH AND GAME COMMISSIONERS. 



WILD DUCKS AND GEESE. 



The most abundant game birds in the State are ducks and geese, 

 although neither of them are nearly as numerous as they were in former 

 years. Ducks formerly bred in abundance throughout the entire State. 

 Now, owing to the reclamation of land and also to the late spring 

 shooting, the only species that breed commonly are the cinnamon teal 

 and fulvous tree duck. The e species leave the State during the fall 

 months and are not heavily killed by duck hunters. The only places 

 -where other varieties breed commonly are in the lakes throughout the 

 Sierra region. 



There were killed in California last year approximately one million 

 ducks. These birds cost the hunter at least fifty cents each. Some 

 authorities consider that they cost a dollar. Even at fifty cents, it can 

 be easily understood what the wild ducks are worth to the people of the 

 State. Numerous species of geese are becoming exceedingly scarce. 

 The practice of using live decoys and animal blinds has reduced their 

 1: umbers to a very small fraction of what they were formerly. Experi- 

 ments should be carried on to ascertain if the geese do the damage that 

 is attributed to them. A certain amount of pasturing of young grain 

 has been found to increase the crop. It is possible that in some of the 

 grain fields of the interior, the work of the geese has increased rather 

 than decreased the amount of grain produced. Without doubt, the 

 killing of geese should be more restricted than it is at present. 



SHORE BIRDS. 



Our present law on shore birds is extremely ambiguous. The season 

 should open and close for all species at the same time. The different 

 species are not well known to most hunters and quite often a law-abiding 

 man unconsciously violates the law. To allow the season for any water 

 })ird to run as late as the first of May is directly contrary to the advice of 

 men who have made a study of spring shooting. Many of the shore 

 ])irds are now on the verge of extinction and it would be well to consider 

 taking them off the list of game birds. There is no more harmless 

 proup of birds in the State, so far as the agricultural interests are con- 

 cerned, and from the standpoint of game most of them are not to be 

 seriously considered. 



QUAIL. 



Quail are slowly decreasing throughout most of the State, on account 

 of the great number of hunters and the development of facilities for 

 getting into all sections where quail are found. One cause of the 

 decrease of quail has been attributed to in-breeding. If there is any 

 merit in this contention, the in-breeding can be attributed to the heavy 

 shooting, reducing the number of birds to below the safety point. In 

 parts of the State there is urcent need of a close season for a number 

 of years if quail are to be kept from extermination. There is some 

 hope that the experiments in domesticating quail, now being tried by 

 parties throughout the State, may be successful. They are compara- 

 tively easily raised and would command a very good price from bird 



