CONSERVATION OF GAME BIRDS. 541 



in summer when a suflBcient supply of pure water is not avail- 

 able; it has been diagnosed as a form of coecidiosis, similar to, 

 if not identical with, that which is believed to cause white 

 diarrhoea in chicks and blackhead in turkeys, and is very 

 fatal to Grouse and Bob-whites (see page 383). As poultry 

 raising increases, the danger of contagious diseases among game 

 birds is likely to increase also, as chickens and turkeys spread 

 coecidiosis. Its spread in Utah may have been facilitated by 

 a dry season and low water. 



Natural Enemies. 



Those who promulgate the belief that the depletion of 

 native game birds is due to their native natural enemies are 

 merely deluding themselves and injuring the cause of game 

 protection. We know from the accounts of the early explorers 

 and settlers that when this country was first settled, and 

 game of all kinds was abundant. Hawks, Eagles, panthers, 

 wolves, lynxes, raccoons, minks, weasels and other enemies 

 of the game (some of which are now extirpated from our 

 covers) were far more abundant than they are to-day, and 

 we find now that where game is rare its natural enemies also 

 usually are rare. The same cause that has swept away the 

 game has destroyed its natural enemies also. Natural enemies 

 of the game are necessary. The Hawk and the fox tend to 

 keep the game in good condition. They break up the coveys, 

 keep the birds alert and active, and compel them to exercise 

 not only their muscles but their wits. They kill off the slow, 

 the feeble, the diseased and the unfit, for these are most easily 

 captured and killed. Probably they keep down the excess of 

 male birds, which so often occurs on game preserves where 

 the natural enemies have been killed off. All gamekeepers say 

 that an excess of male gallinaceous birds tends to prevent 



breeding. 



It is the mission of the native natural enemies to help 

 preserve birds, to keep them up to full efficiency and at 

 the same time to prevent their increase in numbers beyond 

 the limit of safety. An increase beyond this limit would 



