IOWA ORNITHOLOGIST. 



78 



you hear from all sides that, the 

 hunters are the ones that are ex- 

 terminatmg all the bu'ds, "bh'd 

 cranks," taxidermists etc., they 

 are the ones, when if the truth 

 were known they are far in the 

 minority. 



That we have a law protecting 

 the Prairie Hen and our other 

 birds, cannot be denied, but law 

 in this case as in many others, is 

 of very little account, as it will 

 not, and does not enforce itself. 



Their value as an edible bird is 

 a factor that will cause them to 

 be shot on sight as long as they 

 exist. 



That the Prairie Hen will be 

 driven from this fair state, as 

 from our sister states, is a fact 

 readily to be seen. Although 

 they are to be found in consider- 

 able numbers in various portions 

 of the state, let us do all we can 

 to protect and ward off the day 

 of their final extermination. 



It is claimed by some that the 

 Prairie Hen is not a migratory 

 bird, inhabiting a certain locality 

 at all times. 



I think I can safely say from in- 

 formation gathered, and from per- 

 sonal experience that they do mi- 

 grate to a certain extent at least, 

 localities in which they are abun- 

 dant one year, perhaps the next 

 you will find scarcely a bird and 

 vice versa, also in winter they 

 leave, and go no man knows 

 where. 



Many other points I might 

 mention in regard to their breed- 

 ing, nesting etc., but feeling I 

 have already taken up too much 

 of your valuable time I will leave 

 those points open for discussion. 



Birds. 



BY H. HEATON, GLENDALE. 



Paper read before the Second. Congress 

 of I. O. A. 



ri^HE birds, are with most peo- 

 JL pie associated with every- 

 thing that is kindly, and pure, 

 and tender, and good, and a sort 

 of affection springs up even in 

 the infant's heart towards the 

 four and twenty black birds that 

 did not cease from singing though 

 baked in a pie, and the feeling 

 deepens in childhood, as it listens 

 with a sense of solemn woe, to 

 the tragic tale of, ' 'Babes in the 

 Wood," and "Gentle Redbreast," 

 increasing to something like rev- 

 erence for the lessons they teach 

 the observant man, as the prophet 

 Moses likened the afflictions of 

 life, to an eagle that "stirreth up 

 her nest, fluttereth over her 

 young, spreadeth abroad her 

 wings, taketli them, beareth them 

 on her wings," so adverse cir- 

 cumstances bring out what is 

 highest and noblest in character, 

 just as the young eagle must oe 

 pushed out of its nest before it 

 will dare to essay the use of its 



