TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISOENCES. 177 



hawks, iand one of the large, dark 

 brown forest owls, familiar to all 

 hunters, especially such camping 

 at night in or near a forest, or in 

 a rivulet bottom. In olden times, 

 the loud, sonorous calling of these 

 owls often vexed the hunter or 

 traveler as being the loud call of 

 some Indian. Generally two, and 

 often more of these large owls are 

 heard during the stillness of the 

 night, calling and answering each 

 other, and the loud echoes are 

 heard reverberating throughout 

 the forest. 



The armadillo is also represented 

 in the rear and to the right of the 

 view. Some quail, a cotton-tail 



versy — if so it can be called — 

 arose as to the turkey buzzard 

 being a useful animal or a nuisance, 

 and the writer had contributed his 

 share of observations in the year 

 1902 in The Texas Stockman and 

 Farmer of San Antonio, and though 

 since, the matter has been set- 

 tled, it seems against the buzzard. 

 Although not a veterinarian and 

 perhaps only of limited practical 

 experience on this particular sub- 

 ject, allow me to state that the 

 matter seems to me at least rather 

 premature and so far unwarranted 

 to exterminate the buzzard. With 

 this I do not, though, wish to be 

 misunderstood as doubting the 



"v:?'?^, "^ 



'Some Typical Texas Birds and Animals at the Late Zoological Museum, 

 San Pedro Springs Park (1902) 



rabbit, a mocking bird and the 

 sailor of the eternal blue Texas 

 skies — the buzzard is seen in the 

 view with outstretched wings. 



Similar to the above described 

 skunk, the buzzard also has its 

 ominous as well as its useful 

 traits — ugly as they do appear at 

 close range but of graceful and 

 rather attractive appearance when 

 reposing on a dry tree, or along a 

 fence with wide, out-stretched 

 wings basking in the sunshine or 

 gracefully sailing high up in the 

 blue Texas skies. 



Some years ago quite a contro- 



statements of others, especially 

 scientific investigations and ex- 

 periments, if any such have been 

 conducted on a responsible basis, 

 but I do believe that, as far as I 

 have considered the matter, the 

 same is yet in its infancy and needs 

 further and more exact observa- 

 tions and actual scientific experi- 

 mentations before these heretofore 

 protected scavengers of our 

 prairie plains are doomed to com- 

 plete extinction, which by the way 

 may be easier done on writing 

 paper than de facto. There is 

 hardly any game law in this or 



