58 
OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION: BULLETIN 250 
the fate of its relative. At one time the Passenger Pigeon was so 
numerous as to obscure the sun while passing over; the slaughter 
of this species, cruel as it was relentless, was inspired by the same 
selfish motive that is threatening extinction to several species of 
plume and game birds, and that likewise all but exterminated the 
Bison of the western plains. The Mourning Dove was once on the 
list of permanently protected species, but can now be lawfully shot 
from September first to December fifth. Considered from an econ¬ 
omic point of view, it is too valuable a species to be shot for food. Of 
its food, 99 percent is seeds, 32 percent being grain; of the grain, 
three-fourths is waste, picked up in the fields after harvest. Weed 
seed forms the principal and almost constant article of diet for all 
seasons, and constitutes 64 percent of the food for the entire year. 
One stomach examined, contained 7,500 seeds of the yellow wood 
sorrel (Oxalis stricta), another 6,400 seeeds of barn grass or fox¬ 
tail ( Chactocoloa ), and a third 9,200 seeds made up of a mixture of 
seven kinds of plants, part of which were noxious weeds, and none of 
them of use to man. The seeds of many weeds, not commonly 
eaten by other birds, are destroyed by the Mourning Dove. 
QUAIL AND GROUSE 
The Gallinaceous, or scratching birds, are the most prized of 
game birds. They are very largely terrestrial; being short-winged, 
they depend more on their protective coloration to escape their 
enemies than on their power of flight, though strong and swift of 
wing for short distances. Except when pursued by an enemy, they 
seldom perch in trees. The eyes of the young are open, w 7 hen 
hatched, and they leave the nest very soon after they are out of the 
shell. During the breeding season they are found in pairs, but later 
in the season, small flocks or coveys, consisting usually of the mem¬ 
bers of one family, are met with. The Wild Turkey, once abund¬ 
ant, but now probably extinct in the state, is the largest of the 
group. The Ruffed Grouse and the Quail are the only representa¬ 
tive species, native to the state. Both these species were abundant 
in past years, but unfavorable conditions and slaughter by hunters 
has very materially reduced their numbers. 
BOB-WHITE, Colinus virginianus -virginianus (Linn.) 
This species, also known as Quail or Partridge, is now only 
locally common and is gradually but surely diminishing in numbers. 
The destruction of this valuable species would be an economic loss 
to the farmer, and the familiar bob-white call would be greatly missed 
in rural communities. These birds frequent weedy fields bordered 
with briars, or the undergrowth of woodland, where they feed under 
