14 Decrease of Birds 



appearing. The Eskimo Curlew, a useful, valuable and 

 highly esteemed game bird, has been practically extermi- 

 nated. 



The most striking example of the absolute extermination 

 of a species is that of the Passenger Pigeon. It was the 

 most abundant of all species, and writers from the very 

 beginning of the settlement of the country speak of its 

 countless numbers. It was subjected to merciless per- 

 secutions and slaughterings all along its route of migration. 

 The last great flight occured in 1880, after which they 

 rapidly disappeared until the last bird died in the Cincin- 

 nati Zoological Garden, September 1, 1914. 



Of the long-billed Curlew, a non-game bird whose large 

 size made it an easy target for gunners, Mr. Wayne 

 says: "It is now almost extinct on the South Carolina 

 coast where it once swarmed in countless multitudes/ ' 

 He also reports not having seen one since 1889. 



The Upland Plover or Bartramian Sandpiper, one of the 

 most valuable birds to the farmer, is rapidly approaching 

 extermination, and the Ruffed Grouse, which used to 

 breed abundantly in the mountainous counties, has been 

 extirpated from this State. The Whooping Crane long 

 since disappeared from the Atlantic coast, and in the 

 interior of the country where it is occasionally found, it 

 is doomed to early extinction. 



Holding Their Own 



A careful study of the reports that birds are holding 

 their own or slightly increasing in certain localities, leads 

 to the conclusion that this holdup or increase is due to 

 exceptional and local causes which have been operating 

 for only a short time. It does not mean that birds are as 

 numerous as formerly, or that they have increased to a 

 point above their former abundance. It simply means, in 

 the opinion of the observers making the reports, that 

 after a long and steady decrease, in most cases, there has 

 been a slight holdup in the decrease, and that the numbers 

 are now stationary, or that the birds have begun to 

 increase above their former limited numbers to which 



