Game bird

“ Game birds include Swans, Geese, Ducks, Rails, Coots, Woodcocks, Snipes, Plovers, Curlews, Wild Turkeys, Grouse, Pheasants, Partridges, and Quails. Sometimes other birds or animals have been regarded as game. Robins and Mourning Doves, for example, are still shot in some of the Southern States as game birds.
The Audubon Law.—Little was done in the way of securing laws for the benefit of song and insectivorous birds and birds of plumage until 1886, when the bird-protection committee of the American Ornithologists' Union drafted a bill for this specific purpose. ”

“ No two birds ever approach the sportsman’s stand in precisely the same way, and there is one round of deliciously torturing uncertainty; the flock we are most certain of may turn off, the one that has passed and been given up, may return; the bird that has been carefully covered may escape, another that seems a hopeless chance may fall: it is these minute differences, and this continual variety, that lend the principal charm to the sportsman’s life. ”

“ I have never felt that the summer yellow-legs should be in the game-bird class, though I must confess that it has some gamey qualities. It is, at times, absurdly tame; it decoys very easily, returns again and again to the slaughter, and its little body is so small that many lives must be sacrificed to make a decent bag. ”

“ After the children had spent some time in looking at the Hawks and Owls, Nat asked, "What are the 'game birds,' uncle, that those cannibals sometimes eat?"
"That is not an easy question to answer, my boy; but as we are coming to these birds next, you will learn about them separately. Game birds as a whole are those chiefly useful as food, and the hunting of them is the occupation of sportsmen. These birds may belong to the working guilds, and all have habits interesting to bird-lovers; but as regards their value to the world, it is mostly in the shape of food for House People." ”

“ A great number of books have been written for sportsmen and by sportsmen, most of them containing but a very few black and white illustrations of some of the species mentioned. As far as we know, AMERICAN GAME BIRDS is the only sportsman’s book illustrating nearly all of these birds in NATURAL COLORS. With it, the novice can identify any game bird he secures or sees, and the old-timer, as well, can see just what sportsmen in other sections of the country are shooting. The illustrations are excellent reproductions by the very best process from water-color paintings made directly from the birds. ”

“ Quite apart, however, from its exhilarating effect on the sportsman, the bird has quieter interests for the naturalist, since in its food, its breeding habits, its travels, and its appearance it combines more peculiarities than perhaps any other bird, certainly than any other of the sportsman's birds, in these islands. It is not, legally speaking, a game bird and was not included in the Act of 1824, but a game licence is required for shooting it, and it enjoys since 1880 the protection accorded to other wild birds. ”

“ If any one should ask you which are the most famous American game birds, you may answer without hesitation, 'Bob White, Ruffed Grouse, and Woodcock'—the whistler, the drummer, and the sky dancer—all three good Citizens and handsome, interesting birds. ”

“ It is a game bird, nearly related to the grouse, the partridge, and even to our domestic fowls, and it is protected, like the other game birds, by Acts of Parliament, which render those who shoot it, during certain months of the year, liable to a fine. ”

“ Consequently, where the birds are not separately driven later in the season, the preservation and shooting of this fine game bird proceeds upon the principle of killing all the young ones and leaving all the old. That is exactly opposite to the principle adopted for all other game, and we cannot wonder that the race decreases in numbers. Another reason for the decrease is that moorlands are being more drained than they formerly were, and this destroys the rushes, upon the seeds of which young black game mostly live in their early period. ”

“ The wild pigeon was the first of our fine game birds to disappear. Its social habits were its undoing, when once guns were brought to its pursuit. It flew in great flocks, which were conspicuous and noisy, and which the hunter could follow by eye and ear, and mow down with shot at every resting-place. One generation of Americans found pigeons in 'inexhaustible supply'; the next saw them vanish—vanish so quickly, that few museums even sought to keep specimens of their skins or their nests or their eggs ”

“ Never relax your vigilance, as the birds rise silently, without the warning whistle of the woodcock or whirr of the quail, at the least expected moment; and if the punter attempts to direct your attention, the chances are ten to one that you look in the wrong quarter.
The rail, while being a pleasant bird to shoot, is also a pleasant bird to eat. There is no variety of our wild game, large or small, that is more delicious; its flavor is excellent, and its tenderness beyond comparison ”

“ In the report of the Massachusetts commissioners on fisheries and game for the year ending December 31, 1903, is to be found the following:
The occurrence of the wild pigeon is a matter of public and scientific interest, and for this reason, and not because it is a game bird, reference to it is introduced here. ”

“ Their labor is excessive; they have first to catch the birds, and attend to their arrival at the place of shooting early enough to meet the sportsmen; and then they have to run eighteen or twenty-one yards over the uneven and often muddy ground for every bird they place in the trap. Hence, in selecting a place to shoot pigeons, it is desirable, by avoiding sand or soft earth, to save the trapper; under the most favorable circumstance, he will soon be exhausted, and with every advantage, cannot trap more than five hundred birds in a day. ”

“ The term Game Birds, therefore, should be, and has been by general consent, greatly extended in its application, and applied to all the numerous species which, whether migratory or not, are killed not alone for the market, but for sport; and which are followed on the stubble fields, in brown November, with the strong-limbed and keen-nosed setter, or shot from blind in scorching August; slain from battery in freezing December, or chased in a boat, or misled by decoys. All wild birds that furnish sport as well as profit are therefore game ”

“ A bird, to be credited as killed, must be retrieved within the bounds—that is to say, must be gathered with the hands alone; and it was formerly permitted to take him not only on the ground or in the air, but from a tree, and the shooter might walk round a running bird and drive him towards the trap; but more modern rules require that the bird shall fall, and shall be proceeded to straight from the score. The bounds are eighty yards radius from the centre of the traps in single-bird shooting, and one hundred yards in double-bird shooting. ”

“ The most rapid way is to use five traps, in single-bird shooting, and employ five boys—with a relay of five others when the first are exhausted—to set them; boys are naturally more active than men, and are buoyed up by an excitement that the latter do not feel. The five birds are shot at before the traps are refilled; and by the time the last bird is released the boys stand armed with a fresh one apiece, ready to reset the traps in a moment. ”

“ In disposition it is generally shy and wary, and difficult to approach closely, from the open nature of the country it affects. It is highly esteemed as a game bird, and much sought after by many sportsmen, as well from the difficulty of the chase as for its qualities on the table. ”

“ It is a pretty little bird, not often associating in flocks, and on hazy days coming well to the decoys, which should be placed near to the surf, while the sportsman conceals himself by digging a hollow in the loose sand. Although these birds are small, they are plump and well flavored, and when flying rapidly on a level with the flashing breakers, amid the noise and confusion of old ocean’s roar, are by no means easy to kill. ”

“ Often pursued, they trust to their legs for escape, or may crouch low in the grass, motionless, trusting to their plumage's matching tones to render them invisible. When flushed they rise with a loud whirr—the flight rather labored until under way, when they glide on bowed wing rapidly and easily. As to their qualities as game birds it is somewhat too early for us to speak with full decision. ”

“ Male with white throat, bordered with black; female with a yellowish-brown throat, and line above eye. One of the most popular “game birds,” so popular that it is exterminated in New England, and birds imported from the west are unable to regain the lost foothold. Found in stubble and low brush, where they hide until almost stepped upon. They feed upon insects and grain.
Notes.—A clear whistled “bob-white” and a series of low, clear whistles when in flocks.
Nest.—Of grass at the end of tunnel in tall grass bordering fields; 8 to 16 white eggs (1.20 × .95) ; May. ”

“ To play this game you must first decide which one of you is to be the Bird-catcher; the other players then each choose the name of a [pg 27] bird, but no one must choose the owl, as it is forbidden. All the players then sit in a circle with their hands on their knees, except the Bird-catcher, who stands in the center, and tells a tale about birds, taking care to specially mention the ones he knows to have been chosen by the company. ”

“ As each bird's name is called, the owner must imitate its note as well as he can, but when the owl is named, all hands must be put behind the chairs, and remain there until the next bird's name is mentioned. When the Bird-catcher cries "all the birds" the players must together give their various imitations of birds. Should any player fail to give the cry when his bird is named, or forget to put his hands behind his chair, he has to change places with Bird-catcher.
BUZZ
This is a very old game, but is always a very great favorite. The more the players, the greater the fun. ”

“ Most of the above-mentioned game-birds, besides being heard, will probably be seen during a morning’s tramp, together with innumerable small birds, which keep up a perpetual chatter. In fact, everything appears to be full of life and energy. ”

“ When one of them perceives a hare, he aims for it, in order to fall headlong upon it, trying to strike it with his claws or with his beak. If the animal does not remain still and the dash is therefore a failure, the bird re-ascends and tries his manoeuvre over again, calling at the same time to his comrades. They respond, and dash in turn at the game till it is dispatched. If it escapes after it has been missed and succeeds in hiding itself, the birds describe circles as dogs do on similar hunts, and the one which finds it first calls to the others. ”

“ The second bird is frequently so far off ere he is fired at, that, even if hit, he will go out of bounds and be recorded as missed, although he falls dead. In this shooting there is much in accident, not only as to the bird’s falling out of bounds, but as to the mode of flight; for if both birds go directly{298} away from the stand, the chances are against the shooter, whereas if one approaches, the difficulty of killing is not much greater than with single birds. ”

“ The sportsmen then drew down their birds, when, as soon as the wild birds came near enough, they raised their nets, and seldom failed to capture one of the wild pigeons. In an instant the bird was brought down. Bird after bird was caught in the same manner. Before commencing the game, stakes were put in, and he who caught the greatest number of pigeons won them. ”

“ But what interested me especially was that they frequently rose into the air, pursuing and, as I feel sure, often catching the game there, turning and twisting about like fly-catchers, though with less graceful movements. Often, too, whilst flying—fairly high—from one part of the warrens to another, they would deflect their course in order to catch an insect or two en passant. ”

“ The male birds are generally smaller than the female, and the latter are reserved for striking the swiftest game, such as herons. Some birds will return of their own accord to the hand of the master after taking game, but many, including all sparrow hawks, have to be enticed back by means of a lure of red cloth shaped like a bird. ”

“ By chance a keeper may happen on a brood; he notes that sixteen have dwindled to ten, and wonders whether the heavy shower three weeks ago come Sunday, or the old vixen he knows too well, or the widow's tortoiseshell cat, must bear the responsibility. But most game-birds seen are old ones—birds perhaps whose nests have been destroyed too late for a second nesting, or birds whose young ones have met with an untimely fate. Wary old birds with families are specially cautious to keep well out of sight. ”

“ The destruction of these millions of eggs every spring and summer is rapidly reducing the number of game birds, and the flocks every year grow smaller and smaller. Senator Mitchell, of Oregon, introduced a bill at the last session of Congress for the protection of these game birds, but of course it did not come to vote, and it probably never will. The game birds will share the fate of the four-footed game; grow fewer every year, and finally disappear altogether. ”