i8o 



Conservation Reader 



a\'er and its lodge. 



iVot' York Zoological Society 



The passenger pigeon, whose flights almost covered the 

 sky at times not more than forty years ago, and whose num- 

 bers seemed so great that no one believed it possible of ex- 

 termination, is now gone forever. The extinction of these 

 birds was due chiefly to their being slaughtered at their 

 roosting places. 



The California condor, one of the largest of birds, is al- 

 most extinct. The prairie chicken has disappeared from 

 the prairies and plains. Certain species of grouse, and 

 especially the sage grouse, mountain quail, and others, 

 which inhabit sparsely settled regions, are thought to 

 be still holding their ground, but should be more carefully 

 protected. The vallej^ quail is, however, much reduced 

 in numbers ; while ducks, geese, and smaller shore birds 

 are decreasing with each succeeding year. 



