is vigorously condemned by many fishermen. Under unusual circumstances it may 

 do some dca-.iage, yet field .and la'bcratory investigations shov' thc.t it usually 

 consumes food of little or no value to man. Ti-vo careful investigations made 

 in Nevada resulted in complete vindicatioxi of the bird. " 



Pelicen.s core not divers and because of their large size, short legs, and 

 avtovard movem.onts, they app4&fir incapablo, except perhaps locally, of very 

 serious depredations. •- - — , . 



Double-crested Cormorant 



Cormorants, distant cousins of the pelicans, also, come in for their share 

 of condemjiation but Hovjard Mendall f^und in a study conducted for the llain De- 

 partment of Marine Fisheries 2/ that 80 percent of the food eaten consisted of 

 cunners or SGulpins,_ v.hich are Icnov^n to be direct enemies, of comjuercial fish. - ■ 

 IVhile a fevj desirable fishes r-ere taken by these birds, Kendall concluded that 

 "The double-crested corracrant is rendering considerable aid to the fishing 

 industry." Along other parts of the coast, some condemnation is directed against 

 the birds because they take fish cut of pound nets. If the fishermen haul in 

 their catch at daybreak, hov;ever, serious loss is avoided, because the birds 

 are not nocturnal feeders, 



P. A. Taverner, who made a detailed study for the Canadian Government 

 of the relationship bet-.;een this corm.orant and the salmon in the Gulf of 

 St, Lavjrence, v;rites that the total effect, if any, of bird enemies upon 

 salmon is small. 



Inland colonies are frequently condemined to an unwarranted degree al- 

 though some of ti-em undoubtedly destroy valuable fishes. Threat of complete 

 destruction of one of the t'vo remaining colonies in one of the North Central 

 States 'Was made because local sportsmen believed the birds ijere responsible 

 for destroyin,;;; all the fish in a lalce that formerly had afforded some of the 

 best fishing in the State, A careful investigation revealed that excessive 

 allcalinity, resulting from greatly lovjered v;ater levels tliroughout a period 

 of many years, made the production of any valuable species of fish im.possible 

 in this laice. Stom.ach exainination of a series of these birds collected there 

 shoT^ved that 75 percent of the food consisted of the axolotl stage of the tiger 

 salamander, 20 percent of bullheads taken from an adjoining' prairie slough, 

 and the remaining Z percent -of th--.^ fivo-soinod sticklebacks, v;hich 7/ere the 

 ©nly fish capable of enduring the high alkalinity of the lake. 



Kingfisher 



One of the most maligned yet one of the most interesting of our avifauna 

 is the belted kingfisher. Its conspicuousness and distinctive color, flight, 

 call, habits, and solitary nature maice it an acquaintance and an object of real 

 interest for almost everyone v.'ho frequents the out-of doors. At hatchertsf ponds 

 this species probably is ^riore frequently responsible than all other birds for 

 depredations on smiall fish, and occasionally on nev.'ly stocked streams it may 

 cause real damage unless protective measures are emiployed. These places are' 

 comparatively insignificant, hovjever, in relation to the extent of available 

 feeding territory throughout the country, 



2/ The Relationship of Certain Sea Birds to the Fishing Industry of the 

 State of Kaine, Dept, Sea and Shore Fisheries, Maine, Bui, (reporting inves- 

 tigations 1933-54) , 28 pp. 



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