Two Vanishing Game Birds—The Woodcock and the Wood Duck

TWO VANISHING GAME BIRDS—THE WOODCOCK AND THE WOOD DUCK. By A. K. FrsnEE, OrniihoJogisl, Biological Survey. INTRODUCTION. Unless strong protective measures are soon adopted the woodcock and wood duck, two popular and valuable game birds, will become extinct—the woodcock absolutely, the wood duck over a large part of its range. It is the purpose of the present paper to call attention to the impending extinction of these birds, to point out the causes, and, so far as possible, to suggest means of prevention. These game birds differ materially in habits as well as in other par- ticulars, but the conditions affecting their decrease are very similar. As winter approaches they leave their summer homos, where they have been scattered over broad areas, and gradually work southward until finally they become more or less concentrated in their respective haunts in the Southern States. Within the confines of this winter home, where almost no protection is afforded them, they are slaughtered in large numbers; and as the Southern Suites place little restriction on their export, they are shipped North in quantities limited mainly by the demands of the market or the endurance of the gunners. Not only are the birds subjected to this exterminating treatment throughout the winter, but when the season of migration comes and they return to their summer homes they fare little better; for a majority of the States in which they are found permit them to be shot while nesting or at the time when the young are unable to prop- erly care for themselves. In view of these facts it is not surprising that the woodcock, with its limited distribution and moderate fecundity, is very rapidly passing away, and that the wood duck has disap- peared or become rare in many places where once it was common. WOODCOCK. (Philohela minor. ) It is probably true that none of our game birds is so universally esteemed as the woodcock. (PI. LXIII.) The many sportsmen who find pleasure in following coveys of bobwhite through stubble field and covert in autumn, and those who enter the wild and rugged haunts #of the ruffed grouse, frequently abandon their chosen pursuit to search alder swamp or hazel hillside to add the woodcock to their bag. Nor is the bird a favorite with sportsmen alone; it is equally highly 447 448 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. legai-ded by the epicure, and to fill the demand for the table it is much sought by those who shoot to supply the market. The high price it commands is a great incentive to its slaughter at unseasonable times, and this is the most potent factor working to its ultimate extinction. DISTKIBUTIOX. The woodcock is an inhabitant of the Eastern United States, and is rare or accidental west of the ninety-seventh degree of longitude and north of eastern Manitoba, the Great Lakes, and the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers. Its true home is the Mississippi Valley and the northern and middle tiers of States, where cane or alder swamps abound, and where springy hillsides and marshy ground along the FIG. 37.-Distribution of the woodcock (PhUohcUi minor): Shaded area shows range of species. Streams furnish extensive feeding places. In winter it is to be found chiefly in the South Atlantic and Gulf States, particularly in the extensive alluvial tracts of Georgia and Louisiana, although in mild seasons a few may winter about open spring holes as far north as the southern parts of Illinois and New York. To the west of the States which lie along the western bank of the Mississippi, swamps aflording suitable food and shelter are rare, and here, except for a few records of its appearance in the region ]ust east of the foothill country of Colorado, and one recent breeding record from Timnath, in the same State,' the woodcock is practically unknown. There is no satisfactory evidence that the bird ever visits any of theWest Indian islands; so far as known, the only cxtralimital record is one of a storm-driven waif which reached the Bermudas. (See %.37.) TWO VANISHING GAME BIRDS. 449 Woodcock are early migrants, reaching the latitude of New York by the Lst of March, and in favorable seasons at least two weeks earlier. As they breed throughout their range, the time of nesting is quite varied. At Covington, La., young birds fully 10 days old have been found as early as January 29, and in Florida, it is stated, eggs are deposited early in February. This is fully a month in advance of the time of nesting in southern Illinois and the vi(îinity of Washing- ton, D. (I, and more than two months earlier than the regular nesting season in the latitude of New England. In the more northern parts of the range it is often as late as June before the young appear, and well into July before they are wholly able to care for themselves. HABITS. The general appearance of the woodcock clearly suggests its noc- turnal or crepuscular habits. During the brighter parts of the day it seldom takes wing unless disturbed, though it may perhaps feed in secluded places during dark, cloudy weather, or when protected by unusually thick cover. Whefi dusk comes, however, it is all activity, and leaves its hiding place to visit the feeding grounds in marshes, along streams in low meadows, or in fields of growing corn. In favorable localities, woodcock can be heard at dusk flying back and forth, and occasionally the glimmer of their wings can be seen as they alight in the open. In former days, before they had become too scarce, it was a common sight from early twilight until dark to see or hear them flying about the open pastures or springy hillsides of northern New York, nor was it a rare event to flush them from the kit(îhen garden or barnyard, or even from shrubbery close to the house, where they had come in search of food. The flight is variable, not only in charai^ter, but also in force and swiftness: at times, when the bird is flushed, its movements are seemingly labored and irregular as it zigzags up toward the tree tops; at other times it has the swift, regular motion characteristic of other members of the group. The earthworm is the staple food, and the presence or absence of this annelid doubtless governs to a great extent the distribution of the bird, though other forms of subterrestrial life, especially the larvae of insects, undoubtedly make up a portion of its daily fare. It has been shown that a woodcock weighing 6 ounces devours at least half a pound of worms in twenty-four hours, and during protracted droughts there must be diÉBculty in satisfying this voracious appetite. The nest, a loose structure of grass or other herbage, is usually placed among the leaves in a more or less elevated part of the swamp, out of danger of rising water. The eggs are buffy in color, mottled or spotted with darker shades, and are generally 4 in number. 2 A1901 29 450 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. THE DANGER OF EXTERMINATION. The growing scarcity of woodcock is a matter of serious alarm, and one demanding prompt action. It must be remembered that there is far more difficulty in saving it from extinction than in preserving gallinaceous birds, such as quail and grouse. In the case of these l>irds, with their extraordinary fecundity, it is not difficult to restore adepleted covert; for with the addition of a few imported birds, aided by a short term of protection, they should soon reach their former abundance. With the woodcoc'k, however, the situation is different; for the imprac- ticability of restocking, the nature of the food, the migratory habits, and the small number of young arc serious obstacles to su(î(îcssful restoration. Quick and effective measures are needed. In many localities in the North where twenty-five years ago a fair shot with a good dog could secure 40 or 50 birds in a day's hunt it is doubtful if 10 per cent of the former bag could now be obtained. During the past autumn (1901) the writer visited hundreds of acres of good woodcock ground in northern New York without flushing a bird or seeing any considerable signs. Reports as to the scarcity of birds come from numerous points, and even in the most favored localities the decrease within the past twenty years has been 50 to 60 per cent. The causes that have led to this deplorable state of affairs may be summarized as follows (the first two being of minor importance compared with the last two): (1) Natural enemies; (2) severe storms during migi-ation; (8) lack of protection in winter; (4) spring and summer shooting. NATURAL ENEMIES. Although there is little positive information on which to base an opinion, still it is probable that the cat, red squirrel, sharp-shinned hawk, and mink are among the most important natural enemies of the woodcock. If the influence exerted by man be eliminated, natural enemies doubtless produce, within certain limits, a beneficial rather than injurious effect on a species as a whole. As pointed out years ago by Professor Baird, the weak, diseased, or wounded individuals, on account of their lessened activity, are almost sure to be the first to fall victims, whereas the strong and vigorous, through their agility and alertness, have comparatively little difficulty in eluding their foes. By the removal of the weaklings, disease and degeneracy are kept away from the breeding stock, which is able through its healthy vigv)r to escape epidemics and other sweeping fatalities.

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