GAME BIRDS SUITABLE FOR NATURALIZING 19 



bustard (0. tetrax) occupies the southern portion of this range. 

 Both species live on ranches in Spain, where they have been objects 

 of sport for centuries. The lesser bustard in particular is described 

 as so keen a game bird as practically to defy every method of hunt- 

 ing. The larger ranches of our Great Plains seem to offer proper 

 conditions for the bustards. 



SAND GROUSE 



America has no game birds comparable with the sand grouse 

 (Pteroclidse), and as the common name of the bird indicates, they are 

 adapted to arid regions, areas where game birds are a great desidera- 

 tum. An interesting adaptation of these birds to progress on sand 

 is the fusion of all the front toes in a feathered paw, with only the 

 claws protruding; the hind toe is missing. Sand grouse have long 

 pointed wings and tails, look like plovers when on the wing, and 

 have great powers of flight. They are nomadic rather than migra- 

 tory, and occasionally make a great exodus from their usual home. 

 Sand grouse are native to southern Europe, Asia, and Africa, and 

 once established no doubt would find the deserts of southwestern 

 United States congenial. 



SPECIES CONSIDERED UNDESIRABLE 



A list of game birds desirable for introduction is given added value 

 when some attention is called also to those that are undesirable. For 

 instance, it would seem unwise to attempt introduction of that pre- 

 mier game bird of the British Isles, the red grouse (Lagopus scoti- 

 cus), because the bird feeds upon, and its life otherwise is very 

 closely bound up with, heather, and the United States has no exten- 

 sive areas of heather. The same remark applies to the black grouse 

 {Tetrao tetrix). The capercailzie (T. nrogallus) and the Himalayan 

 snow cock (Tetraog alius himalayensis) , while temptingly large, have 

 the same fault as our spruce grouse (Canachites canadensis) of feed- 

 ing so largely on the needles of coniferous trees that their flesh at 

 times is heavily impregnated with turpentine and therefore becomes 

 inedible. The migratory quail {Cotumix cotumix) has already been 

 tried extensively in this country, but it does not become established. 

 The migratory instinct of these birds carries them far away to the 

 southward and they do not get back. The European wood pigeon 

 (Columba palumbus) has been unsuccessfully introduced on a small 

 scale, and further efforts have been urged, but this should not be 

 encouraged, as the bird too frequently is a pest in its native land. 



In fact, the habits of any species that is being considered for intro- 

 duction should be closely scrutinized, and if the bird seems to have 

 markedly injurious tendencies it should be passed over and some 

 less objectionable species selected. No wild birds can be imported 

 into the United States without permit from the Bureau of Biological 

 Survey, and permits will not be issued for the importation of species 

 known to have injurious habits. 



