46 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XV 
Lalifornia Associated Societies for the Coiv 
servation of Wild Life ; 
^ An organization like the Associated 
Societies suffers a considerable handicap at 
best through the lack of coordination be- 
tween the organizations and individuals mak- 
ing it up, this lack of coordination being the 
result of the sptitial dispersment of the mem- 
bership, and of the absence of a medium such 
as an .official publication to keep each indi- 
vidual member fully informed. It is hoped 
that the publication of this report in the or- 
gans of the constituent societies will, in a 
measure eliminate this disadvantage. 
As to the work of the Associated Societies ; 
At the meeting of the Executive Committee, 
held December 19, a particular program of 
improvement along wild life conservation 
lines was decided upon. This program em- 
phasizes the “no-sale of American-killed wild 
game” law, and the putting of assistants and 
wardens of the State Fish and Game Com- 
mission on civil service basis, as of supreme 
immediate importance. 
Hundreds of letters have already been 
sent out ; many of these requesting donations 
of money to be used to carry on the work ; 
others to persons of influence throughout 
California, as a means of getting them to 
work with us ; and others to legislators, cal- 
ling their attention to the alarming decrease 
in our native fauna, and requesting their 
best attention to the field. 
A news letter on "No Sale of Game" has 
recently been printed and sent out to a hun- 
dred of the most influential newspapers in 
California. Other news letters dealing with 
other phases of the work will be dispatched 
as finances permit. 
As was anticipated, powerful selfish inter- 
ests oppose us. The San Francisco hotel 
men. who would feel the effect of a no-sale 
law, have already stimulated the kept press 
to do their bidding. If we can get the facts 
to the people, there is no question of the re- 
sult. 
We can get the facts to the people if we 
are given the necessary finances. 
Shall we permit California’s fields, marshes, 
and forests to become devoid of all animal 
life? Shall we stand for the destruction for 
profit of our wild life, one of California’s 
most attractive features? 
The Associated Societies must answer 
these queries with a decisive “No!"' and must 
be able to follow up the negative with a vig- 
orous and able demand for constructive legis- 
lation. 
You can help — (1) by becoming an islet of 
information along this line, (2) by awaken- 
ing enthusiasm in wild life conservation, (3) 
by keeping track of your representatives in 
the State Legislature, and last but not least 
(4) by seeing to it that your society makes 
a donation to the war chest of the Associat- 
ed Societies, and by making a donation per- 
sonally if you are able to do so. 
Here is the challenge. The enemies of 
wild life — the men who put the dollar above 
all else — are united and have powerful fi- 
nancial ability. Will you accept the chal- 
lenge, and enlist in the Army of Defense? 
The aim of the Executive Committee is to 
weld the California Associated Societies into 
a powerful and effective fighting machine. 
The assistance of each constituent society, 
and so far as possible, of each member, is 
earnestly desired. 
Respectfully submitted in behalf of the 
Executive Committee. 
W. P. Taylor. 
Secretary-Treasurer. 
PUBLICATIONS REVIEWED 
Food of Our Moke Lmportant Flycatch- 
ers, I)y F. E. L. Beal ( U. S. Dept. Agric., 
Bureau Biol. Surv., Bull., no. 44, 67 pages, 5 
pis; Sept. 19, 1912). 
The flycatchers are to be numbered among 
the birds which are almost wholly insec- 
tivorous. Their economic value, measured by 
their destruction of injurious insects, is, there- 
fore, veiw great. The above cited recent bul- 
letin of the Bureau of Biological Survey, by 
F. E. L. Beal, records the food of seventeen 
species of flycatchers, and proves their value 
as allies of the farmer and horticulturist. 
In discussing the food of the xLrkansas 
Kingbird, Mr. Beal says: “Honeybees (Apis 
incilifera) were noted in 5 stomachs. In an. 
there were 31 bees, of which 29 were males, 
or drones, and 2 were workers. This bird 
has been accused in California of eating 
honeybees to an injurious extent. It was said 
that the bird lingered near the hive and snap- 
ped up the honey-ladened bees as they return- 
ed from the field. This statement is not 
borne out by the facts stated above.” 
Even granting that much of the complaint 
received from bee-keepers is liased on cir- 
cumstantial evidence it still seems reasonable 
to believe that this bird takes larger num- 
bers of the workers than the evidence would 
indicate. Many bee-keepers complain bitterly 
that kingbirds destroy queens as well as 
drones. As many make a business of raising 
queens for the market their loss can easily be 
reckoned in dollars and cents. The fact that 
queens look and fly more like drones makes 
this complaint seem reasonable. Looking at 
the same question from another point of 
view : Stomach examination may not furnish 
accurate evidence as to the numbers of work- 
ers destroyed ; for kingbirds, like orioles, may 
