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Nobody would dare say that the great blue heron doesn't eat fish. 

 The bird is well equipped to do it» and does it. It is also aimitted that 

 the DepartTient of Agriculture has issued in order permitting tne control 

 of herons and other fish-eating birds about fish hatcheries. They are toiovm 

 to bo destriictivo about fish hatcheries. In localities away from the 

 hatcheries, as wc shall sc-^, it is^different story. 



The most valuable fishes are few in nmber compared with the nonr- 

 commercial species. Moreover, as a rule, the more valuable fishes live in 

 the deeper water, are swifter swimmers, and harder to catch than many of the 

 so-called coarse fishes. 



liThsn Mr. McAtee tahes the stand, he will tell you that the great 

 blue heron and other fish— eating birds feed on what is common and easy to get. 

 In support of that statement he will cite to you analyses of the contents 

 of the stomachs of 150 great blue herons, made by exj)erts in the United States 

 Biological Sarvey. 



Mr, McAtee will point out to you that meadow mice were fovmd in 8 of 

 the 150 herons stomachs. Other mice were found in 4, Shrews in 5. In 

 fact, forty years ago a law was passed in California protecting the great 

 blue heron on account of its feeding on pocket gophers and ground squirrels. 



But we are not going to try to establish an alibi for the great blue 

 heron. We will admit that he was in the locality probably at the very time 

 of the mysterious disappearance of these valuable fishes. 



What was he doing there? The inside evidence from those 150 herons 

 will show that this stateiy bird goes to the strea"ns for other things thain 

 fish. Thirty-seven stomachs contained the young stages of dragon-flies. 

 Thirty-three contained crawfishes, nine had giant waterbugs, seven had 

 predacious diving boetljs in them. Snakes, frogs, salamanders, and leeches 

 also were found. Remember those items. Thoy are important bits of evidence 

 in favor of the great blue heron, and of other fishr-eating birds that eat 

 these along with the fishes. 



Yes, these herons have the nnme for eating fish. But Mr, McAtee v/ill 

 show you that 29 of the 150 dined on suckers, 23 on minnows, 14 on stickle- 

 backs, 7 on darters and carp, 5 on killifish, while sculpins, gars, and 

 madtoms also were found. On the other hand, commercial or gome fishes 

 occurred only a few times. Eel was found in 1; grant in 1; pickerel in 2; 

 trout in 9; sunfishes in 10; yellovf perch in 13; and catfish in 17, Sunfishes, 

 of course, are not verj-- i^aluable either for sport or food, and catfish are 

 notorious spawn eaters. 



Then remember those suckers, and mirjiows, and sticklebacks which form 

 the larger share of the blue heron's fish diet. Those are enemy or competitor 

 fish of the trout, Mr. McAtee says few folks realize Irhat serious destroyers 

 of spawn there are among the suckers, and minnows, and sticklebacks. Evident- 

 ly from Mr, McAtee' s figures, the great tlvue heron eats scores of the enemy 

 and competitor fishes for esery trout that it consumes. 



But that's not the whole story. Besides the fish enemies of fishes 

 the streams team with insect and other enemies, such as the larvae of the 

 predacious diving beetles, or "water tigers," nymphs of dragon-flies, giant 

 water^bugs, and crawfishes. As you recall, those trout enemies were fo"and 

 in considerable numbers in the great Blue herons examined by the experts. 



