of waterfowl began to appear in the press. As a rule, the facts were 

 greatly exaggerated, but some losses did occur . Local reports were over- 

 publicized in connection with promotional campaigns and with efforts to 

 oppose continuation of the prohibition on the baiting of waterfowl for 

 shooting. 



Several instances of alleged starvation in different parts of the 

 country were thoroughly investigated, examinations of birds collected 

 being made by the Biologioal Survey, State universities, and other agen- 

 cies. In each instanoe the birds affected were cripples from the hunt- 

 ing season, were heavily parasitised, or were suffering from lead poison- 

 ing. The last-named diagnosis was the most frequent finding of the tech- 

 nicians conducting the examinations. 



In the Illinois River valley, 41 ducks, supposed to have died of 

 starvation, were given a critical laboratory examination, and 20 were 

 found to have died from lead poisoning. The remaining 21 birds had died 

 from other causes, but many showed the characteristic lesions of lead 

 poisoning. Of these, 8 were heavily infested with internal parasites, 3 

 were suffering from gunshot wounds, and 7 of the remaining 10 had a con- 

 siderable quantity of corn, small grains, and other food in their giz- 

 zards—a circumstance definitely eliminating starvation as the cause <*<* 

 death. 



An investigation made on Round Lake, near Ruthven, Iowa, by the Bio- 

 logical Survey in cooperation with the State Conservation Commission show- 

 ed that about three-quarters of the 123 dead mallards found on the area 

 had food in their crops. About a fifth of the gizzards bulged with food, 

 but this could not be digested because of paralysis of the muscles from 

 lead poisoning. All but one of the 123 ducks contained shot. Although 

 one gizzard contained 22 pellets, 55 others showed but one shot each. 



These studies in Illinois and Iowa support findings of wildlife path- 

 ologists in other parts of the country, where in many winters reports of 

 starving ducks have been oommon* In nearly every oase wildlife technicians 

 found that oauses other than lack of food have been responsible for the 

 condition of the birds. 



Nevertheless, starvation may be the immediate cause of death for 

 ducks that are incapacitated by wounds, lead poisoning, or parasites. For 

 birds that might make complete recoveries under moderate weather conditions 

 the freezing of water areas, with accompanying deep snow, may well mean 

 death by starvation. Many wildlife experts have reached the conclusion 

 that normal wild ducks or geese are not likely to die of starvation. It 

 is becoming increasingly evident that the ducks that starve are those badly 

 injured or too weak from other oauses to leave an area that suddenly be- 

 oomes inhospitable, or that are unable to withstand the severe weather con- 

 ditions prevailing for short periods nearly every winter in the northermost 

 parts of the waterfowl wintering grounds. 



14 





