IOWA ORNITHOLOGIST. 



mount. To him the beauty and 

 the worth are lost, he knows that 

 he has killed something that is 

 rare and for that reason alone 

 does he hoard it like a chunk of 

 gold. 



Let us take the Whooping 

 Crane. Some forty years ago, 

 an old resident of Burlington tells 

 me, he observed that the Flint 

 river mud flats were frequently 

 visited by this bird. Always ap- 

 pearing in small flocks, there they 

 fed and stayed for some time, 

 possibly during migration. They 

 probably nested here also quite 

 frequently. Now such a thing 

 as a nest is a scarcity. 



The Sandhill Crane, although 

 much more plentiful, will soon 

 pass away. It is a large bird and 

 the hunter uses it as a conven- 

 ient mark, to kill it, to throw it 

 away, and have it rot on some 

 forgotten island. 



The Egrets, Swans, Mississippi 

 and Swallow-tailed Kites were 

 formerly seen in large numbers; 

 now a single specimen is hardly 

 to be found in our state. 



The Wild Turkey is another 

 bird that has seen its best days. 

 Two years ago a Burlington game 

 dealer discovered a flock; he did 

 not shooL with the chances of 

 killing one or two, but observed 

 closely the ground they used, 



where he built a secure hide. On 

 a rainy day he occupied the same 

 and at the first appearance of 

 the flock scattered it. When all 

 were well separated he used his 

 call and gun so successfully that 

 not one of the thirteen birds es- 

 caped. 



The little Blue bird, the har- 

 binger of spring, was observed 

 this year in such solitary number 

 that we may safely come to the 

 conclusion that it will be seen no 

 more in a few years, unless we in- 

 duce the small boy to leave 

 alone its nest. 



We must come to the conclu- 

 sion of the paper, and with it to 

 the conclusion that laws should 

 be framed that would adequate- 

 ly protect our present birds, and 

 knowing that Mr. Brown will ably 

 handle this subject, I leave this 

 to his judgment and experience. 



Bird Laws of Iowa and Laws that 

 Are Needed. 



J. H. BROWN. 



Paper read before the First Congress of 

 I. O. A. 



CECTION 4063 of the State 

 Code as now amended by 

 the 22d General Assembly, reads: 

 "If any person kill, trap, en- 

 snare, or in any manner destroy 

 any of the birds of this State, ex- 



