NATURAL HISTORY. 



21? 



struction caused by them which is intolera- 

 ble. I have visited many portions of our 

 country, and nowhere have I found eagles 

 so abundant and such a pest as in the lo- 

 cality mentioned by Mr. Marks. Undoubt- 

 edly there must be special reasons for this 

 abundance; but whatever that may be, it is 

 only fair to the ranchmen and sheep owners 

 that the number of eagles should be re- 

 duced to a reasonable figure. I think it per- 

 fectly right, where such a condition exists, 

 to kill off a certain number of eagles, and 

 frighten the remainder into the hunting of 

 fish and other prey more lawful than young 

 lambs.— W. T. H. 



UNDOUBTEDLY A BITTERN. 



I see in October. Recreation a letter 

 from P.. P. Chase, of Ishpeming, asking 

 about a certain bird he describes. I think 

 it must be the same as seen some 7 years 

 ago in that region. I was much interested 

 in it at the time, but was unable to identify 

 it. Some called it sandhill crane, but it 

 was not. It resembled the turkey more 

 than the crane, though its tail was short. 

 The Rev. F. L. Forbes, of Pendleton, Ore- 

 gon, secured a specimen which was shot 

 at McMillan, Mich. He would gladly de- 

 scribe it for you though he is not a natural- 

 ist. 



Recreation comes in for a thorough 

 reading each month. It is a sure relief for 

 any symptoms of the blue Monday feeling 

 that some preachers have. You are doing 

 a great work in making unpopular the 

 bristles and the greed of the game glutton. 

 Geo. W. Luther, Green Bay, Wis. 



P. P. Chase, of Michigan, in October 

 Recreation describes a bird which has a 

 striking resemblance to one we have here. 

 This bird is called by the natives guareao. 

 It is slightly smaller than a hen turkey, 

 but has longer legs and bill. The bill is 

 about 4 inches in length and resembles in 

 shape the curlew's. Its color is dark brown 

 with small white spots unevenly scattered 

 over the back and wings. The under side 

 is ashy white dotted with dark brown. Its 

 call is a cackle or croak resembling some- 

 what that of the raven. The guareao fre- 

 quents the low marshy grounds. In this 

 locality these birds are numerous from 

 March to June and are most seen and 

 heard in the evening and early morning. 

 O. A. Fischer, Trinidad, Cuba. 



In October Recreation Mr. P. P. Chase 

 asks someone to identify a bird which he 

 noticed a short time ago while out driving. 

 From the description he gives there is no 

 doubt that the bird was an American bit- 

 tern, Botaurus lenttginosus. 



J. A. Loring, Owego, N. Y. 



CALLING CROWS. 



In many localities the crow has out- 

 grown his usefulness by mere force of 

 numbers. When we had but few of his 

 kind they were a good thing and the law 

 protected them, but to-day they may be 

 found in flocks of * countless thousands. 

 Because of scarcity of food the crow has 

 become more bold and now robs birds' 

 nests wherever he can find them. He 

 swoops down on a mother hen with her 

 brood of little chicks and takes one at a 

 time until there are none left. A farmer 

 told me he had seen a flock of crows drive 

 a turkey from her nest and destroy or carry 

 off all the eggs before he could reach them. 

 The crow is the only bird that has con- 

 tinued to increase in spite of breech load- 

 ing guns, smokeless powder and chilled 

 shot. He laughs at any attempt to fool him 

 and knows just how far a gun will carry. 



He goes on unmolested, robbing the nests 

 of the song birds ; the pheasant or grouse 

 escapes him for a time perhaps, but he 

 sees her hiding place at last and if himseli 

 unable to drive her off the nest he calls 

 loudly for help. His fellows flock to his 

 call and the first on the ground get a re- 

 ward for hurrying, in the shape of an egg 

 or chick. Lucky is the grouse that escapes 

 the ever watchful eye of the crow. 



Despite their cunning crows may be 

 called like ducks to a blind. One can learn 

 all the calls made by the crow; the call of 

 distress, the call for help, the warning and 

 all the other calls or caws. It will take 

 some practice, but will yield more real sport 

 than you have had for many a month. 

 The only time I have ever thought I want- 

 ed a repeating shot gun was when calling 

 crows. All crow calls can be imitated 

 with the voice alone, and many of my 

 friends in this community have learned to 

 do this as successfully as I. 



W. L. Blinn, Rockford, 111. 



REARING PHEASANTS. 



I have been engaged for 3 years in rear- 

 ing pheasants in a small way. My birds 

 are cross between the Mongolian and the 

 English varieties. The eggs hatch equally 

 well under common hens and bantams ; but 

 the large fowls are more likely to crush 

 the young birds. The chicks are rather 

 tender until they are 3 weeks old. 



No bird is more fond of grasshoppers 

 and crickets than the young pheasant. 

 Milk and eggs made into custard is the 

 best food for young birds. When first 

 hatched, the chicks easily escape from a 

 coop that would not let a mouse through, 

 and they will wander away from a 

 hen if not confined. By the time they are 

 4 weeks old they have learned the call of 

 the hen. Then the coops can be raised 



