JUNE 2, 1906. | 
- Fr 
FOREST.AND STREAM. 
869 

cold birds,’ I heard from my neighbor, ‘the boys 
will get them to-morrow.’ We picked up all the 
warm birds, finding many cripples and killing 
them, and the boys counted sixty-nine birds out 
of that bunch brought to bag. * * * All over 
the country we could hear a cannonade and flocks 
were continually settling down, ignoring the 
trees and tumbling into a bunch of grass when 
and where they could after being once disturbed. 
Of course, this shooting did more to frighten 
and drive away the birds than all the netting in 
the world. * * * A _ succession of surprises 
such as the one described was the order of the 
night until midnight, when we met another party 
of neighbors, who had tramped through from the 
other side of the roost and who had bagged a 
large number of birds.” 
Disappearance. 
The disappearance of the wild pigeon as large 
flocks—many were seen afterward in small num- 
bers—appears to have taken place in 1888. The 
last flock was lost to view in the then unknown 
land to the northward of Wisconsin. An excep- 
tionally instructive article, published in the Auk, 
was reviewed in Forest AND STREAM of Oct. 24, 
1889, as follows: 
“A very interesting paper by Mr. William 
Brewster on the present status of the wild pigeon, 
in the current number of the Auk, points to the 
conclusion that this interesting bird is by no 
means extinct, but that driven and harrassed by 
the assiduity with which it was pursued in the 
tates, it has betaken itself to uninhabited woods 
somewhere to the north of the Great Lakes, in 
British North America. This argument is mainly 
supported by the fact that in the spring of 1888 
almost every county in the southern peninsula of 
Michigan was visited by large flocks of this bird 
passing northward. A few isolated pairs stopped 
to roost in the wooded districts, but the main 
army disappeared across the Straits of Mackinaw 
about the close of April, much to the disappoint- 
ment of the old-time netters, who, concluding 
that the birds had returned to their old haunts for 
the season, got out their nets and made prepara. 
tion for the familiar slaughter. Mr. Brewster, 
having been informed that the birds had arrived 
in large numbers and were preparing to rcost, set 
oft at once to learn as much as possible about the 
breeding birds, reaching Cadillac on May 8, and 
lingered there waiting for information as to the 
nesting site selected, until it was evident that the 
birds had gone north. ; 
“Here he collected evidence of the flight, prin- 
cipally from Mr. S. S. Stevens, a resident of the 
place, a veteran pigeon netter, and one who has 
a high reputation for veracity and carefulness of 
statement. Mr. Stevens’ testimony was to the 
effect that pigeons appeared that year in num- 
bers neat Cadillac about April 20. He saw rully 
sixty in one day scattered about in beech woods 
near the head of Clum Lake, and on another 
occasion about 100 drinking at the mouth of a 
brook, while a flock that covered at least eight 
acres was observed by a friend, a perfectly reli- 
able man, flying in a northeasterly direction. Many 
other smaller flocks were reported. But how do 
these figures compare with the flights of fifteen 
or twenty years ago? Mr. Stevens, speaking of 
the great nesting of 1876 or 1877, says: 
“‘Tt began near Petoskey ( Wis.) and extended 
northeast past Crooked Lake for twenty-eight 
miles, averaging three or four miles wide. The 
birds arrived in two separate bodies, one directly 
from the south by land, the other following the 
east coast of Wisconsin and crossing at Manitou 
Island We saw the latter body come in from the 
lake at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. It was 
a compact mass of pigeons, at least five miles long 
by one mile wide.’ Again referring to the nest- 
ing place of 1881, Mr. Stevens estimates that 500 
men were engaged in netting pigeons, and that 
they secured on an average 20,000 birds apiece 
during the season. This would be a total of 
1,000,000.000 birds.” 
Brewster’s foregoing estimate of 1,000,000,000 
birds destroyed at the roost—the destruction at 
only one roosting—probably does not include the 
total destruction, that also caused by the loss of 
eggs and squabs. However, if we compare this 
total with the flock, as estimated by Wilson, 
which, when on the wing, covered 180 square 
miles and contained 1,115,136,000 birds, the rela- 
tive total of it and the destruction mentioned by 
Brewster, will be more apparent. 
This is the last account of any large nesting 
of which I can find any record. It was a small 
affair when compared with antecedent nestings. 
The flock disappeared going northward, and 
no information exists of its return, so far as I 
know. But there are several subsequent accounts 
of single birds returning in ones, twos, threes 
and very small flocks, scattered here and there 
over the United States. 
The prevention of the nesting at Petoskey in 
1888, probably was the last straw. Probably then 
most of the birds were very aged, because the 
persistent breaking up of nestings in previous 
years would wholly or largely prevent the neces- 
sary recruiting of the flock by young birds, hence 
among the old birds the death rate would be 
very large and the flock woud rapidly perish. 
Scattered and returning in twos and threes or 
small flocks, they fell an easy prey to the man 
who was ever alert with a gun. The pigeon even 
thus did not become suddenly extinct, for lone 
birds here and there through the country have 
been seen and reported betimes ever since the 
great exodus of 1888. 
This matter of record concerning the disappear- 
ance of the last flock to the northward, should 
forever dispel all far-fetched theories of the de- 
struction of the birds on the high seas in a gale. 
Had the pigeons ever returned as a flock, the 
event would have been noted in the contempor- 
raneous literature of the times. Their failure to 
return was noted widely, and deep regrets were 
then voiced loudly and earnestly. The destruc- 
tion at that day was attributed to its true causes, 
slaughter and prevention of reproduction. 

The following communications appeared in 
ForEST AND STREAM, and show the shattered con- 
dition of the great flock, after the Petoskey 
massacre. It also shows that the pigeons did not 
disappear suddenly in a mass: 
Sept. 5, 1889, George A. Boardman wrote: 
“After some years we are this summer having 
some of our old acquaintances in the way of wild 
pigeons. Several flocks have been seen about, 
and I hope they may again become abundant.” 
C. -E. I, East Templeton, Mass., in Forest AND 
STREAM of Oct. 17, 1889, substantiates Mr. Board- 
man, as follows: “It gives me pleasure to be 
able to report the return of the wild pigeon to 
Massachusetts. I saw three Sept. 23, genuine 
Ectopictes migratoria, the first seen since 1879 
or 1880. They were feeding on blueberries and 
huckleberries that, although badly dried, were 
persistently hanging to the bushes.” B. WaATERs. 
North Carolina Audubon Society. 
Tue Fourth Annual Report of the North Caro- 
lina Audubon Society has just been received, and 
is an interesting document. All Audubon So- 
ciety work may be said to have two aspects, the 
educational and the protective—the teaching 
that the laws should be obeyed, and the enforcing 
of the statutes. During the past year a vast quan- 
tity of educational literature has been distributed 
in the State, a very great benefit, and the State 
press has lent its aid in educating the people. 
Besides this, Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson, the secre- 
tary, and Mr. William R. Lord, of Boston, Mass., 
have delivered lectures on the value of birds. 
A special service done by the Society has been 
the protection of colonies of water birds breeding 
in North Carolina, with the result that these colo- 
nies have greatly increased. One of these breed- 
ing places, of great interest to all ornithologists 
is in Craven county, where about 150 pairs of 
cormorants breed in summer, The bird very 
rarely breeds in that latitude. There are breed- 
ing colonies of herons which under present con- 
ditions are increasing. 
By far the greatest work, however, has been 
the increase in the number of gulls, terns and 
black skimmers, which breed on the outer beach 
along the coast. Mr. Pearson conjectures that 
the natural population of sea birds for this region 
would be about 500,000 gulls and terns, but in the 
summer of 1903, when the Audubon Society be- 
gan its work, it was found that only five small 
colonies of birds were left and the number of 
eggs deposited was only about 1700. The follow- 
ing year there was an increase of 1,000 eggs, and 
for the summer of 1905 the increase in the num- 
ber of birds reared is believed to have been nearly 
7,000. The Audubon Society has a launch, which 
enables the wardens to cover much ground, and 
the work of protecting these sea birds has become 
very popular with the fishermen along the coast, 
who recognize that the birds are their useful 
friends, 
There have been eighty-four convictions under 
the game law, covering a large number of 
offenses. Among these were three convictions 
for hunting ducks with fire, one for killing ducks 
on a “lay day,’ and one for shipping quail. The 
total amount of the fines collected amounted to 
$279.06. 
It is often difficult to detect shipments of game 
in -violation of the law. Boxes are labeled 
“ee 5] oe 9 oe : b] ee 9 
eggs,” “walnut kernels, rabbits,’ “bananas, 
and so on. His little dog has been of great as- 
sistance to one of the wardens engaged in this 
work. 
It is interesting to know that at Pinehurst ef- 
forts are being made to rear quail in captivity, 
and it is said with good results. If this can be 
done regularly and systematically it will do a 
great deal for North Carolina and even more for 
the sportsmen at large. 
Mr. Pearson’s good work for bird protection 
has often been adverted to and it continues to 
merit high commendation. 
Wild Bird Plumes. 
THE Forest, Fish and Game law of the State 
of New York provides that the plumage of wild 
birds in general shall not be sold or had in pos- 
session for the purposes of sale. This provision 
of the law is now and always has been openly 
violated by milliners, and by the wholesale deal- 
ers in feathers and bird skins who supply milli- 
ners. Steps are now being taken, however, to 
enforce the law, the full text of which is as fol- 
lows: ‘Wild birds other than the English spar- 
row, crow, hawk, crow blackbird, snow ow] and 
great horned owl shall not be taken or possessed 
at any time, dead or alive, except under the au- 
thority of a certificate issued under this act. No 
part of the plumage, skin or body of any bird 
protected by this section shall be sold or had in 
possession for sale. The provisions of this sec- 
tion shall not apply to game birds for which an 
open season is provided in this act.”’ 
Last week Commissioner Whipple, of the State 
Forest, Fish and Game Department, served a 
notice on dealers in feathers that the sale or pos- 
session for sale of the feathers of wild birds is 
illegal and must cease. Commissioner Whipple 
recognizes that there is a considerable trade in 
these articles and desires that his enforcement of 
the law shall work as little hardship as possible. 
It is no doubt with this in view that he has post- 
poned the issuing of this notice until the present 
time, when the spring trade is at an end and when 
dealers will have three months in which to return 
their stock to the persons from whom it was pur- 
chased, Commissioner Whipple’s notice reads: 
“T respectfully call attention to our State law 
covering the sale or possession for the purpose of 
dress or otnament of the bodies or feathers of 
wild birds, whether taken in this commonwealth 
or elsewhere. This law covers the skins and 
feathers or parts thereof, especially of insectiy- 
orous birds, herons, gulls, song birds, terns, etc., 
whenever and wherever taken. 
“Tt is respectfully suggested that you can best 
observe the spirit and letter of the law by remov- 
ing from sale ‘all such feathers and returning 
them to the wholesalers; and further, by refusing 
to buy or sell such feathers, aigrettes, etc. Cer- 
tain dealers are,claiming that the bird laws are 
not to be enforced; or that their particular goods, 
notably aigrettes, are manufactured, and are 
therefore not prohibited by this law. In case 
such statements are made, the writer will be glad 
to give an opinion as to whether or not any par- 
ticular feathers come within the scope of the law, 
and whether or not they are liable to seizure and 
the possessor liable to arrest.” 
