April 20, 1920. 
(COPY} 
/ 
/• m 
t 
Museo Nacional 
de 
His tori a Natural 
de 
Buenos Aires 
::r. E. W. ITelson, 
Ohief of the Bureau of Biological Survey, 
Washington, p. C. 
Dear Sir: 
I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of January 9 and of the 
interesting publications of the Bureau of Biological Survey, which I am 
very glad to have and for which I thank you. 
In your letter you inform me that you think to send down a representative 
of the Bureau for the purposes to obtain more specific informations about the 
North American species of migratory birds which visit the Argentine during our 
summer months. I promise to you that I shall do to the best of my power in order 
to facilitate his task in our country in giving- him all informations and also 
in putting him in touch with soma other ornithologist. 
As regard to the game lav/s in Argentina I must tell you that these laws 
are not adeouate to protect efficaciously the birds. The game legislations 
of the states prohibit by a closed season (from 1st of 3ept. to the end of 
April, in the Prov. of Buenos Aires), the spring shooting of the game birds 
which are nesting in the country. iTotwi thstanding practically this closed season 
does not exist, and in spite of the laws and also on account of the extensive 
and scarce population, the legislations are effectless in a great part of the 
territory of the Republic, where a great number of birds is destroyed in every 
season of the year. There axe no special legislations affording protection to 
the migratory birds, owing to the erroneous belief that they are not nesting 
in the country and therefore they need no protection. I recognize that, in our 
country, most of the people are still ignorant of the economic value of these 
birds and the states have never devoted much attention to insure adequate pro¬ 
tection to migratory birds in making efforts to prohibit to be hunted for a 
certain number of years. 
In the northern parts of the Argentina several game birds as the "charata" 
( Ortalis candcollis ) and the "Pava del monte" ( Penelope birdgesi ) were before 
common while today have almost disappeared. 
The shore birds especially have much suffered in the pampas^ due principally 
to the change in the winter home, in the increase of the population, modern guns, 
etc, Certain species have greatly decreased in number during the last twenty 
years. The Eskimo Ourlen, has completely disappeared from the pampas. 
