
BIRDS IN THE NEWS 
The New York Department of Conservation has added the BLUEBIRD to the state’s list of endangered species. One of 
the main reasons given for the decline in population is loss of nesting holes to the more aggressive starlings. Some of the other 
species already on the list are: the Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Ipswich Sparrow, Southeastern Pine Grosbeak, and several 
mammals, reptiles and fish. The Bluebird is the state bird of New York. 
The STORK, national bird of Denmark, is almost on the verge of extinction say Danish zoologists. A century ago, an 
estimated 10,000 storks arrived each year from their African wintering grounds. This year 70 pairs were counted. The chief of 
the Copenhagen Zoological Museum blames the decline on the drainage of wetlands, collisions with electric power lines, 
_ shootings, ingestion of poison put out for grasshoppers in Egypt, and several cold, wet summers which took a heavy toll of 
young. 
A group of British bird lovers is trying to re-introduce the GREAT BUSTARD in England. The Bustard, largest of 
European land birds, was exterminated by British hunters about 150 years ago; however, it survived in palaces around the 
Mediterranean. The male Bustard may weigh as much as 35 pounds, and the roasted birds are considered a great delicacy. Six 
Portugese Bustards are being used in the experiment. 
The livers of British HERONS have been found to contain 900 parts per million of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), 
which have an effect similar to DDT. Although PCBs are not used as insecticides, they are contained in a large number of 
industrial compounds and there is evidence that they affect egg shell thickness. High PCB amounts were found in the 
carcasses of many thousands of seabirds killed in the Irish sea, and have since been found in seals. 
Only 28 CALIFORNIA CONDORS were counted on the annual survey (October 21 and 22); however, the poor 
weather may be partly responsible for the low count. Last year, 53 birds were counted. 
“Illinois is host to about half of the remaining CANVASBACK DUCK population on the North American continent,” 
comments George Arthur, waterfowl biologist with the Illinois Department of Conservation. This fall, 111,000 canvasbacks 
were counted in Pool 19 of the Mississippi River between Keokuk and Oquawka dams. The biologists say that such high 
concentrations of a species are most unusual. 
A second three-day season on the WILD TURKEY has been declared for the three southern Illinois counties — 
Alexander, Jackson and Union. Last spring 1,000 permits were issued and only 23 birds were killed. Turkeys were first 
restocked in Illinois in 1960. 
Wildlife technicians counted 138 GIANT CANADA GEESE during the aerial census of Knox and Fulton counties. The 
Giant Canadas were believed extinct until Dr. Harold Hanson of the Illinois Natural History Survey discovered a flock at 
Rochester, Minnesota in 1962. Many states are now raising and releasing the birds, which may weigh as much as 18 pounds. 
The Department of Conservation is trying to establish a nesting flock on 30,000 acres of reclaimed strip mine land. The 
department obtains the goslings from the Des Plaines State Game Farm and from private breeders. For the past two years, the 
free-flying ducks have migrated south during the coldest part of the winter, although it is not yet known where they go. The 
birds are held in pens until they are two years old. 
Wildlife officials in Louisiana and Texas have accused Missouri and lowa of attempting to waylay thousands of BLUE 
and SNOW GEESE bound for their wintering grounds on the Gulf Coast. The southerners are complaining that the federal 
and state wildlife agencies have provided so much food that the geese see no reason to move south. They also express the fear 
that the migration pattern of the geese may be altered, and they are urging the Department of the Interior to drain the 
northern refuges to force the birds south. Officials in lowa and Missouri have denied that they are doing anything to hold the 
geese, and say that the mild weather in early winter made the birds tarry longer. 
The townspeople of Scotland Neck, N.C. are up in arms over the flock of 12 million BLACKBIRDS that refuses to go 
bye-bye. The population, which has tripled since last year and includes redwings, grackles, cowbirds and starlings, spends the 
winter roosting in a wooded area north of town. So far all attempts to get rid of the birds have failed. 






























