ANIMAL LIFE IN OKLAHOMA. 17 



the bad. They also have the additional advantage of working at night 

 when the rodents are running about, so that it is difiBcult to compute the 

 eoonomic importance of the silent army of owls with representatives in 

 every community within the State. 



WOODPECKERS. 



We have not less than ten different kinds of woodpeckers, and 

 each of them represents a distinct value to the orchard and timber in- 

 terests. They carry on an interminable search for the deadly grubs and 

 other insects that burrow into and endanger the life of trees. Wherever 

 a forest insect pest develops in any section it is sure to attract an army 

 of hammering woodpeckers, and the birds are soon the victors. They 

 also have played a part in spreading the forests. These birds are, in 

 fact, real foresters, in that they are persistent planters of trees and do 

 not give up their watchful care over them as long as they harbor a 

 single insect pest. Yes, they do drill holes in telephone poles and riddle 

 church steeples, but school boys cajrve their names on beautiful desks. 

 Both are seeking to be perpetuated; there is no more reasion for de- 

 stroying one than the other. 



EAGLES AND VULTURES. 



People have never ceased to wonder at the matchless flight of eagles 

 and vultures. They soar far into the upper atmosphere and float on 

 motionless wings so smoothly that they appear as mere spots against 

 the sky. It is said that these birds are never caught in the fury of the 

 storms but fly above the clouds and descend only after the wind has 

 spent itself. Both the golden and bald eagle frequent this State and 

 have been known to nest in the mountainous regions of the south and 

 east, but they occur in very small numbers and are only occasionally 

 seen. The turkey and black vultures are found more abundantly and 

 are commonly seen circling far above the earth in their constant search 

 for carrion. They have keen powers of vision, and the characteristic 

 "drop" of a vulture to a carcass will soon bring others from miles 

 around. 



WATER AND SHORE BIRDS. 



Our state is situated within the migratory path of a very large 

 percentage of all the water and shore birds that annually go north for 

 the breeding and nesting season. Floating clouds of gulls are seen over 

 the State during the spring and summer months, but on account of their 

 powerful wings they do not often come to rest upon the ground. Soli- 

 tary pelicans occasionally fly over, but they usuailly come in flocks. As 

 many as one hundred and fifty of these feathered fishermen have spent 

 the night on the Canadian Eiver a few miles west of Norman. Ducks 

 come and go throughout the entire year. On. the protected lakes and 

 ponds they become very tame and are often seen in great numbers. It 

 is probable that more ducks occur in Comanche County than in any 

 like area within the State. All told, at least thirty kinds of ducks 



