10 BIRDS OF ARKANSAS. 



Perhaps the most maligned birds in this country are the hawks 

 and owls. A deep-seated though baseless prejudice against them 

 has persisted to the present day, although it is now nearly 20 years 

 since the Biological Survey demonstrated, as a result of hundreds 

 of stomach examinations, that most of this prejudice is unfounded 

 and that in reality nearly all of our hawks and owls confer a decided 

 benefit on the farmer by destroying field mice, rats, rabbits, other 

 rodents, and insects. The only birds of prey found in Arkansas 

 which are not beneficial are the duck hawk, the sharp-shinned hawk, 

 the Cooper hawk, and the fish hawk. 



GAME RESOURCES AND LEGISLATION. 



In the abundance of its game birds Arkansas holds an enviable 

 position among the States of the Union, but in the adoption of meas- 

 ures for their conservation she has lagged somewhat behind her sister 

 States. In pioneer days quail, prairie chickens, wild turkeys, 

 passenger pigeons, the mallard and other ducks, and wild geese were 

 so abundant that there seemed to be no danger of their extermination. 

 To-day the pigeons are exterminated, the prairie chickens are on the 

 verge of extinction, and turkeys have become very scarce save in a 

 few specially favorable regions. 



The history of the exploitation of these game resources strikingly 

 illustrates the effect which the bird life of a State may have on the 

 development of its legislation and on its attitude toward game 

 protection. 



Market hunters were early attracted to the game fields, and with 

 the development of railroads and the introduction of cold storage in 

 the handling of game, came an unexpected drain on the resources of 

 the State. Quail, prairie chickens, pigeons, and ducks were trapped 

 or killed in enormous numbers to supply the markets of St. Louis, 

 Chicago, and other cities, and considerable trade was built up in 

 handling game chiefly for shipment to other States. To regulate this 

 traffic a law was passed in 1875 requiring a $10 market-hunting license 

 of nonresident hunters. The first law fixing seasons for hunting 

 game birds was enacted in 1885, and at the same time protection was 

 extended to the nests and eggs of all wild birds except birds of prey, 

 crows, and blackbirds. In 1889 export of game from the State was 

 prohibited, and in 1897 the market-hunting license was increased to 

 $25. In the same year, through the public-spirited efforts of Mrs. 

 L. M. Stephenson, of Helena, was enacted the first comprehensive law 

 protecting nongame birds and one of the first laws of its kind in any 

 of the Southern States. In 1903, not only was killing of game for sale 

 and the sale itself prohibited, but the privilege of hunting was restricted 

 to residents of the State. No close season for ducks or geese has ever 

 been established, and no restriction has been placed on the numbers 

 of these birds which may be legally killed. It is evident, therefore, 



