Historic, archived document

Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

jReleJexO aA’

OF THE

CHIEF OF THE BIOLOGICAL SURVEY

FOR

se OO): 3

BY

C. HART MERRIAM.

[From ANNUAL REPORTS, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. ]

WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1903.

Paar

CONTENTS:

Wiork:ot the “year sc oases oo cae oe Boe ee oe ee ee
Section-of ceosraphic distribution. .2 e225 ae
SECON Ol ECONOMIC OrnithOloey a. Ac 56= = oe ee ee ee
Section OF same. protection a22 2 = 222 ese a ee ee
Bird smMieration <= 2.6. e seo Se ot eae ee es ee
iPubeations 226 5 ee) a ee eg ee ee
index of manimal names 6-22 222232 5 ee ee ee eee
HROUtING WOrk: = = 4 95556 See ec oe ee ee eee

@utline.of work tor the year 1904. 12: 34 a ee eee
section ol scorraphic distribution . 2: 2-2 =) 22s: 222 ss eee
pechion of economic ornithology:.22 2-22-22 22s. 2-2 - eee
Sechion-or game protection« 2:2 <2 2 22) Sa ae Se ee
Birds migrations. 2225.00) Sa A ee eee

Recommendations; +252 32622 cele es Soe see ee eee

II

en

REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL .
SURVEY.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
Division OF BroLoGicaAL SURVEY,
Washington, D. C., September 25, 1903.
Str: I have the honor to submit herewith a report of the work of
the Biological Survey for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1908, with
outline of work for 1904, and recommendations for 1905.
Respectfully,
C. Hart Merriam, Chief.
Hon. JAmEs Witson, Secretary.

WORK OF THE YEAR.

As heretofore, the work of the Biological Survey has been conducted
along the three lines laid down by Congress: (1) Investigations relat-
ing to the geographic distribution of animals and plants, including
biological surveys and the determination of the life and crop belts, in
charge of the chief; (2) investigations of the economic relations of
birds to agriculture, in charge of F. E. L. Beal; (3) supervision of
matters relating to game preservation and protection and the importa-
tion of foreign birds and animals, in charge of T. S. Palmer.

SECTION OF GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.

Field work in connection with the study of the geographic distribu-
tion of mammals, birds, and plants has been carried on over wide areas
in California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Alaska, and also in
several States of Mexico.

In California the preparation of a reliable biological map—a map
showing the positions and boundaries of the life and crop belts—is
rendered particularly difficult by the extraordinary topographic and
climatic diversity of the land, distances of a mile or less sometimes
bringing complete changes in the fauna and flora. Within the limits _
of the State may be found practically all the climates of the continent
save the humid tropical. There are Alpine summits clad in perpetual
snow, torrid deserts hotter and drier than those of Africa, and areas
of excessive humidity where frequent fogs and heavy rains favor the
erowth of one of the noblest forests in the world.

In most States the running of a few lines suffices to give a key to
the chief facts of distribution and makes it possible to map the zones
with approximate accuracy, but in California nothing can be taken for
granted, and it is necessary to spread a network of lines over the State
before the complicated zone boundaries can be laid down with any

483

484 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS.

degree of confidence. Each valley and each slope has a climatic indi-
viduality and a corresponding fitness or capacity for particular crops.
Some are cool enough for apples, cherries, and sugar-beets; others
hot enough for almonds, raisin grapes, and the citrous fruits. Further-
more, in cases where several areas are adapted to the cultivation of
the same crop, it frequently happens that the crop matures in the
different areas at widely different dates. The commercial importance
of this knowledge it is hard to exaggerate.

In the lowlands some striking differences are noticeable in the ani-
mals and plants of places of the same altitude and latitude. These
differences may be explained by the circumstance that certain valleys
are bathed in rivers of fog, while others are continually exposed to
the scorching rays of the summer sun, which, beating for months
through cloudless skies, dries up the moisture and bakes the soil. In
the mountains it often happens that conspicuous differences in the fauna
and flora occur on opposite sides of the same hill. This is caused by
the angle of the slope with reference to the position of the sun, slopes
facing the north and northeast having a temperature so much lower as
to permit the existence of species different from those able to survive
on the hot south and southwest slopes.

The agricultural interests of California are enormous. In the year
1902 the farm value of fruits and fruit products shipped from the
State amounted to $35,000,000; of wheat, barley, and flour, $21,250,000;
of hops and beet-sugar about $2,000,000 each, or, in all, upward of
$60,000,000. To this should be added the values of vegetables and of
dairy and stock products.

Stated in quantities, the shipments of fruits from California in
1902 were: @

Exports of fruits from California in 1902.

Carloads.

Gitroussirinte S22 5 TSS ee BS ee eee ee 22, 566
ured rites... Se cs oe SS ee ee ee 15, 194
Green decidudus fruits. 2. esse a Ee ee ee ee 10, 039
Canned Arubts, oo j20- 6. Se SS se a ge ea 8, 063
WaiSinS 22 25) nn ce 5 We ee ee ee 4,757
SINGS hos en heh ee SEE ee ee al ee 1, 091
Total exports, of druitan 1902202. 25h eae ee eee 61, 713

During the same year the exports of wine and brandy amounted to
8,868 carloads, and of vegetables to 6,956 carloads.

In view of these facts and of the rapidly increasing agricultural
population of the State, the importance of a biological map showing
the areas adapted to particular crops is obvious. The preparation of
such a map was undertaken by the Biological Survey some years ago
and has progressed as rapidly as the available funds and difficult char-
acter of the country would permit. During the field season of 1902—
1903 the work was continued mainly along the western slopes and
foothills of the Sierra and in the Coast Ranges between Monterey and
San Luis Obispo. |

The field parties in charge of Vernon Bailey, chief field naturalist,
continued work in Texas and New Mexico. In Texas operations were
carried on in the eastern part of the State, about Kerrville and Rock-
springs, and in the Panhandle region and portions of the area drained
by the Rio Grande, Devils, and Pecos rivers. Explorations were

a Statistics from California State Board of Trade.

ee

eet ale

ea

DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 485

made also along the western slopes of the Davis and Guadelupe moun-
tains, Texas, and in the Sacramento and White mountains and the
Great Salt Valley in New Mexico. After the main parties had dis-
banded in the fall of 1902, an assistant was detailed to continued field
work throughout the winter in the upper Pecos Valley, Tularosa
Desert, and Capitan Mountains, New Mexico, and on the plains to
the north and east of El Paso, Texas.

As in previous years, the field work in Mexico was in charge of
EK. W. Nelson, who, with his assistant, E. A. Goldman, worked in the
States of Jalisco, Zacatecas, Michoacan, Guerrero, Morelos, Mexico,
and Puebla, obtaining much material of value in determining ques-
tions of geographic distribution beyond our southern border.

A biological exploration of the lower Mackenzie River and the
Barren Grounds between Great Slave and Great Bear lakes was begun
in the spring of 1903. This work is in charge of EK. A. Preble, who
has previously conducted similar explorations in the Hudson Bay and
Athabasca regions, for the purpose of obtaining material illustrating
the status and distribution of boreal plants and animals.

Mr. Preble’s work, in connection with recent field: work in Lab-
rador (conducted by Outram Bangs), in northwestern America (under
the auspices of the American Museum of Natural History), and in
Alaska (carried on for some years past by this Department), will, when
completed, furnish a series of transcontinental boreal and arctic
explorations, the results of which will make it possible for the first
time to discuss with some confidence the relations and distribution of
a large number of animals and plants whose homes are restricted to
the far north. The work of the Department in Alaska has been
greatly embarrassed and handicapped by lack of knowledge of the
natural history of parts of America east of that territory.

During the past year our work in Alaska, in charge of Wilfred H.
Osgood, was carried on along the base of the Alaska Peninsula, on
both coasts, and on several of the lakes and. rivers of the interior,
notably Lakes Iliamna, Clark, and Becharof, and the Chulitna, Nusha-
gak, and Ugaguk rivers. This region includes the northwestern limit
of the Pacific coniferous forest, and also the meeting ground of several
life areas. It is therefore a field of unusual importance for biological
investigations.

SECTION OF ECONOMIC ORNITHOLOGY.

In the section of economic ornithology the work begun in previous
years was pushed toward completion, and some new investigations
were undertaken. As in previous years, two distinct lines of work
were carried on: (1) in the laboratory, consisting of the examination
of stomachs and crops of birds and the tabulation and comparison of
their contents; and (2) in the field, consisting of the observation of birds
in their haunts, more especially in orchards, gardens, and fieids, to dis-
cover to what extent they damage crops or destroy insects that infest
crops, and of the collection of such insects, seeds, wild fruits, and
similar objects as are available for bird food, in order to compare them
with the contents of stomachs taken in the same locality and thus
determine whether birds choose food because it is most abundant or
because it is most palatable.

During the year 2,566 stomachs were received from various collect-
ors throughout the country, making the total number on hand 48,630,

486 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS.

Exanination was made of 2,655 stomachs, distributed among various
groups as follows:

Wioodtocks..0 2 4225 2s ean ee 2) | Shrikes ss... 2 es Rea Se eee. 20
Quail; srousejete. 3: 22s ee A169 -|. Vireoss 222. 22: 2 ee ee 21
Woodpeckers 2.522... 2 3c ee 69 | Warblers - ---- 526i eee A27
Goatsuekers. © {2.0.2 sso ee 13 |) Wrens 2. 6 ee ee 98
iiycatchers 30s 525. ee ees ee CEs En rosnes-2 sae BS ee eae ene 48
frommed lark 2568 A 166" | Miscellaneous. 222-522. eee 365
Grows vind jays) <2 < 2 Ses ee 21

WreIOlen: 25 <<, Sac 9 Total. 23 eee 2,655
inehese seer Sst ae Semen 438 |

The results of investigations on a farm in Maryland carried on for
several years by Sylvester D. Judd were published in a bulletin entitled
** Birds of a Maryland farm” (Bull. No. 17 of the Biological Survey).
This work has proved so useful as an aid in ascertaining the economic
status of birds that it has been continued, and Doctor Judd has revisited
the farm at imtervals. The object has been to find out the relations
and interactions of birds, insects, and farm crops; to ascertain if any
direct checks upon ravages of insects through the actions of birds are
noticeable: and to judge as nearly as may be what damage is done to
crops by birds themselves, and to what extent this damage is offset by
useful services rendered. The first edition of the bulletin was rapidly
exhausted; another will soon be issued.

Field studies of the food habits of birds in the principal fruit-
growing districts of California were begun in 1901 and have been since
continued. F. E. L. Beal, who is personally conducting these impor-
tant studies, revisited California in February and will remain through-
out the fruit season of 1903, visiting the most impor tant fruit-growing
regions. In addition to careful field observations he secures stomachs
of birds at the localities where the species are alleged to do the most
harm and collects such insects and seeds as appear to be available for
bird food.

Professor Beal is also investigating complaints of California bee
keepers, some of whom claim that certain birds are a great detriment
to their business, in that they eat large numbers of worker bees, and
even that they sometimes capture queens during their marriage flights.
The stomachs of birds sent in by these bee keepers failed, on exami-
nation, to support the charges, and it is desirable that enough addi-
tional material be collected in the immediate vicinity of the hives to
settle the question definitely. In case the alleged damage shall prove
to be real, field observations should be made with a view to the dis-
covery of a remedy.

Thus far about 3,500 stomachs of California birds have been exam-
ined and the results tabulated. A report on the results may be
expected within the year following Professor Beal’s return.

Doctor Judd is continuing investigations of the food of American

game birds. The subject of ¢ game protection has in recent years grown
so much in public interest that an accurate knowledge of the food of
birds of this group has come to be a necessity. In fact, the Biological
Survey is constantly receiving inquiries as to the real economic status
of this and that game bird, entirely apart from whateyer value it may
have as food or as an object of sport. A bulletin devoted to the quail,
grouse, and other gallinaceous birds, and including also the woodcock,
is well advanced toward completion. The food of wild ducks and other
waterfowl] will be the subject of another bulletin.

DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 487

SECTION OF GAME PROTECTION.

The work of game protection is now carried on under three acts of
Congress: The Lacey Act of 1900; the egg act of 1903; and the Alaska
game law of 1902. The work naturally divides itself into four well-
marked lines: (1) Supervision of the importation of birds and mam-
mals; (2) cooperation in restricting interstate shipments of game con-
trary to law; (3) protection of game in Alaska; and (4) collection and
publication of matter relating to game protection.

IMPORTATION OF FOREIGN SPECIES.

During the year 387 permits were issued for the entry of about 629
mammals, 53, 106% birds, and 2,000 eggs of partridges and pheasants,
an increase of 100 permits and 415 mammals compared with the
record of 1902. These figures, however, do not show actual entries,
as the number of birds imported is often less than the number stated
in the permit. Several consignments of game birds were entered.
Special efforts have been made to make the service more effective with-
out undue hardship to the importers. The opportunity of evading
the law by having birds brought in by passengers necessitates a more
rigid enfor cement of this feature of the regulations than would other-
wise be required, particularly at the port of New York. Passengers
bringing five birds or less have the option of declaring these with
their other personal baggage before an officer of the customs and
landing them without permit: but if more than five are imported a
permit in regular form must be obtained. A strict account of the
birds thus landed is kept by the customs authorities and reported at
the end of each quarter. This arrangement has been found to work
satisfactorily at New York and has “recently been extended to San
Francisco. It avoids much unnecessary friction and delay in the case
of persons bringing in a few pet cage birds. Special arrangements
also have been made at the port of ‘San Francisco to facilitate the
entry of mammals and birds consigned to the National Zoological
Park. Heretofore such consignments have been received at fr equent
intervals, often without previous notice, from the United States con-
sul at Newcastle, New South Wales. With a view to still further
improving the service, a careful examination was made at San Fran-
cisco in June of the peculiar conditions attending importations from
Australia and the Orient. _ Although the entries at San Francisco are
few as compared with those at New York, the danger of introducing
injurious species at that port is probably greater than at any other.
The completion of the cable from San Francisco to Hawaii, by making
it possible to communicate promptly with the inspector at Honolulu,
adds much to the effectiveness of the service at both Honolulu and
San Francisco.

The prohibition of the entry of certain injurious species is becoming
generally understood, and the law seems to be accomplishing all that
was expected of it. So far as is known, no prohibited species gained
entry into the United States during the year. Two mongooses from
Jamaica were killed at Philadelphia; one mongoose from the Philip:
pines and two fiying foxes, known also as fruit bats, from Australia.
were destroyed at San Francisco; anda consignment of 50 flying foxes
which reached New York from Singapore in December was reshipped

@ Exclusive of canaries. The total number including these birds is 254,633

488 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS.

to Hamburg, Germany. <A few specimens of prohibited species, most of
them known to the Department, are in safe keeping in the possession
of zoological gardens or private individuals. The mongoose, which
was already distributed over Porto Rico and the islands of Hawaii and
Oahu prior to the passage of the Lacey Act, has not, so far as known,
spread to any new localities in the United States, but the European
starlings near New York City and in the lower Hudson River Valley
seem to be gradually extending their range into western Connecticut
and southwestern Massachusetts. These species have obtained such a
strong foothold in the localities named that all that can be done is to
prevent them from spreading over other parts of the United States.

INTERSTATE COMMERCE IN GAME.

Through the cordial cooperation of the Attorney-General of the
United States and State officials, cases arising from illegal shipment
of birds and game have been acted upon more promptly than ever
before. Special mention should be made in this connection of the
services rendered by the State game commissioner of Illinois, the
executive agent of the fish and game commission of Minnesota, and
the game wardens of Iowa and Michigan. During the year 35 cases,
involying shipment of 3,729 birds,“ were reported to this Department,
as against 39 cases involving the shipment of about 5,000 birds during
the preceding year. Since the passage of the act 40 convictions have
been secured in cases passing through this Department (25 in Federal
courts and 15 in State courts), while about 20 more cases are still
pending. In the two Federal cases arising in South Dakota the maxi-
mum penalty of $200 was imposed. A number of the cases pending
last year it was found necessary to drop because of the impossibility
of securing satisfactory evidence or locating the defendants within the
time required by the statute of limitation. As resources available for
this work are necessarily limited, efforts during the past season were
devoted largely to one or two areas in the West where experience had
shown illegal shipments to be especially frequent. This concentration
of effort gave more satisfactory results, especially in the number of
convictions secured.

While illegal shipments of game still occur in large numbers, con-
stantly increasing restrictions imposed by State laws render such
shipments more and more difficult, as indicated by the devices resorted
to by shippers in order to escape detection. The records of the year
show an increase in the shipments by freight of game which formerly
was forwarded by express, and in at least one instance game birds
from the Northwest were found concealed in bales of hay shipped by
slow freight. For successful prevention of such shipments more infor-
mation must be collected in regard to the methods adopted by the
trade in securing and forwarding game for market. It is gratifying
to state that the Department has received the cordial cooperation of
officers of express and railway companies. Much more attention is
paid to such matters than heretofore; and in one notable case, that of
an important railway system which formerly brought large quantities
of game southwest to Chicago, no illegal shipments were reported. A
personal examination also disclosed the fact that in one section of

« Not counting 10 barrels of prairie chickens, which included an unknown number
of birds.

.

. DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 489

North Carolina where game shipments were formerly made out of sea-
son vigilance of the common carriers had brought about an immediate
cessation of shipments at the close of the open season.

The Department is also cooperating with local authorities in pre-
venting the shipment and export of cage birds captured in violation of
State laws. With two or three important exceptions the traffic in
cage birds is now almost entirely restricted to foreign species and
birds, like canaries, which are raised in captivity. As soon as certain
States in the South have placed restriction on the capture and sale
of mockingbirds, cardinals, and nonpareils, the wholesale capture of
these valuable birds for sale in northern cities and foreign markets will
be prevented.

PROTECTION OF GAME IN ALASKA.

The act of June 7, 1902 (the Alaska game law), has imposed heavy
responsibility on this Department, which the absence of a specific appro-
priation has made extremely difficult tomeet. Until competent wardens
can be employed for certain important regions, it will be impossible
to prevent wholesale destruction of game or to bring about even a
reasonable observance of the law. At present all that is possible is to
make the provisions generally known and to enforce restrictions gov-
erning shipment of game from the Territory. The work of the year
was necessarily largely experimental. Two or three consignments of
hides for the trade were held temporarily at San Francisco and Seattle,
the effect of which action was to discourage such shipments. The
wholesale shipment of deer hides totally ceased; but, as often happens
in the case of a new statute, some of the provisions were misunder-
stood, and in certain quarters the impression gained credence that the
shipment of black bearskins was prohibited, and the trade in these
furs was temporarily curtailed. In spite of the prohibition of the sale
of heads and skins of game animals, applications were received for
the shipment of some trophies which were undoubtedly intended for
sale. Prior to the 1st of May 59 permits were issued for the ship-
ment of trophies and specimens, most of which consisted of bear,
moose, and sheep from the Kenai Peninsula. Pending the issue of
departmental regulations, about 30 applications were suspended in
May and June on the understanding that permits would be issued before
the opening of the season and arrangements made so that applicants
who had not received their permits might ship trophies without unnec-
essary delay.

PELICAN ISLAND RESERVATION.

For several years past the State of Florida has made efforts to pro-
tect certain plume birds by special statute, and later, in 1901, by the
passage of a general law prohibiting the killing of all birds other than
game. The committee on bird protection of the American Ornitholo-
gists’ Union has cooperated in this work, and for three years has
directed its efforts to the preservation of a breeding colony of brown
pelicans inhabiting a small island in Indian River, on the east coast,
near the town of Sebastian. This island is less than 4 acres in extent,
and during the breeding season is occupied by from 2,000 to 3,000
pelicans. It was found, however, notwithstanding the State laws and
the presence of a special warden, that protection was inadequate. The
Department, therefore, on request of the American Ornithologists’

490 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. ZS

Union and the Biological Survey, presented the matter to the Secre-
tary of the Interior, requesting that, if practicable, the island be set
aside as a reservation. This request was approved, and on March 14,
1903, the President of the United States issued an order setting aside
Pelican Island as a reservation for the protection of native birds
under the charge of the Department of Agriculture. A warden was
at once appointed, and, with the continued cooperation of the Ameri-
can Ornithologists’ Union, every effort is now being made to preserve
the colony.

PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION CONCERNING BIRDS.

By a special provision in the Lacey Act the Secretary of Agricul-
ture is required to collect and publish useful information relating to
the propagation, uses, and preservation of birds. The publications
thus far issued have related chiefly to preservation, and have com-
prised circulars, posters, and bulletins relating to State and Federal
laws. Each year a bulletin has been issued giving briefly the pro-
visions of State laws, particularly those which affect interstate com-
merce in game. The laws relating to birds other than game have
also been collected and issued asa special publication (Bulletin No. 12).
Posters and circulars have been distributed from time to time showing
close seasons in the United States and Canada (including those in States
which have county legislation), requirements of the shipping laws
covering game, details relating to the enforcement of the Lacey Act,
and similar matters. A condensed list of game officials and organiza-
tions was published in the Yearbook of the Department for 1902, and
separates have been sent out wherever they would prove useful. The
demand for these publications is large and is constantly increasing.
Seventy thousand copies of the bulletin entitled ‘* Game laws for
1902” were published, and Bulletin No. 12 has been republished or
revised three times. So great has the demand now become for a gen-
eral publication on game laws that it exceeds the resources of the
Division, and such a publication can only be issued in very condensed
form asa Farmers’ Bulletin. But the appreciation of these publica-
tions is shown not alone in the demand for them, but also in the use
made of them. Our ‘‘Game laws for 1902” was republished entire
in the annual report of the game commissioner of Indiana; portions
of the same bulletin were republished by the game warden of Mary-
Jand; diagrams and maps taken from it have been reproduced in
books issued by private publishers, and both text and diagrams are
often utilized by the press. The information thus distributed is most
sought at the time when amendments to game laws are under consid-
eration, and it is not too much to say that the rapid progress in bird
and game protection during the last three years may be largely attrib-
uted to the publication by the Biological Survey of the various methods
of protection which have been adopted by the several States. Espe-
cially is this progress noteworthy in the case of nongame birds, which
are now protected by a practically uniform statute in 27 States.
The bulletin on this subject has also attracted attention in other coun-
tries, particularly in Brazil and Mexico, and two notable articles have
just been published advocating the adoption of a system of protection
for nongame birds in the countries named similar to that which has
proved so effective in the United States.

Numerous requests for data on foreign game laws have emphasized

DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 491

the importance of securing information along these lines, and during
the year, with the assistance of the Department of State, copies were
secured from nearly all the European governments of existing statutes
relating not only to game and nongame birds, but to payment of boun-
ties for the destruction of noxious animals. The Division has also
sought to secure copies of the licenses, resident and nonresident, now
issued in several States, and to collect samples of the shipping tags
and circulars used by the trade in interstate commerce in game. It
has begun the preparation of a special report on methods of enforcing
game laws in vogue in the several States, and on the distribution,

migration, and protection of shore birds. As already stated, it has
undertaken an extensive investigation of the food of game birds, and,

in cooperation with the Division of Botany, is collecting material to
illustrate the food of waterfowl, with special reference to the important
ducking grounds in the upper Chesapeake and Currituck Sound.

BIRD MIGRATION.

During the year a bibliography of works relating to the occurrence
of North American birds south of the United States was completed.
It covers the period from the time of Linneus to the present and con-
tains 694 titles, divided into the following categories: West Indies, |
160; Central America, 205; South America, 329. A bulletin is in
progress on the distribution and migration of 16 representative species
of shore birds, designed to serve as a basis for intelligent legislation

as to the close seasons necessary for the preservation of the species
and for their adequate protection in their winter homes. Maps have
been prepared showing the summer and winter distribution of three
of the most important of these species.

All of the migration material collected in the past nineteen years
has been overhauled, rearranged, and catalogued to date, so that it Is
now readily accessible.

PUBLICATIONS.

The publications issued during the year include one number of
North American Fauna (No. 22), one bulletin (No. 17), two articles,
and a list of game officials and organizations in the Yearbook for 1902,
one circular (No. 38), the report of the Division for 1902, one Farmers’
Bulletin (No. 160), three large posters showing the close seasons for
game, and eight reprints of former publications.

North American Fauna No. 22, by Edward A. Preble, treats of a
biological investigation of the Hudson Bay region; Bulletin No. 17,
by Sy lvester D. Judd, on ‘‘ The birds of a Maryland farm,” embodies
the results of long- continued observations on the economic relations
of birds to local crops. The Yearbook articles are ‘*Audubon soci-
eties in relation to the farmer,” by Henry Oldys, and ‘* The Agaves,
a remarkable group of useful plants,” by E. W. Nelson. Circular No.
38 is entitled ‘* Interstate commerce in birds and game,” and relates to
laws covering the subject. Farmers’ Bulletin No. 160 consists of a
compilation of the game laws in force in the United States and Canada
in 1902. The posters (Nos. 3, 4, and 5) give the close seasons for
game in the United States and Canada, in Maryland, Virginia, and the
District of Columbia, and in North Carolina and Tennessee. Three
reprints were required of Farmers’ Bulletin No. 54, ‘‘Some common

4992 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS.

birds in their relation to agriculture,” by F. E. L. Beal, making a
total of 315,000 copies issued since 1897, the date of original publica-
tion. Reprints were issued also of Farmers’ Bulletin No. 160, “‘ Game
laws for 1902;” Bulletin No. 12, ‘* Legislation for the protection of
birds other than game birds;” Circulars 36 and 37, *‘ Importation of
reptiles into Hawaii” and ‘ ‘Restintions for the importation of eggs
of game birds for propagation;” and one Yearbook article, ‘* The
meadow lark and the Baltimore oriole” (1895).

INDEX OF MAMMAL NAMES.

The necessity for a complete and modern index of the family and
generic names of mammals has led the Biological Survey to prepare
such an index. This work, which has been in charge of T. S. Palmer,
was completed during the year and the volume is now in press.

ROUTINE WORK.

During the year the routine work steadily increased. This work
consists of correspondence, accounts of expenditures, preparation of
reports and bulletins for publication, identifying and labeling speci-
mens, care of collections, cataloguing bird stomachs received, tabulat-
ing details of stomach examinations, arranging and tabulating field
reports, sorting and filing published matter valuable for reference,
mapping distribution of birds and mammals, attention to the needs of
field naturalists, developing photographic negatives and making prints
from them, compiling game laws, issuing permits for the entry of for-
eign mammals and birds and for the export of trophies and specimens
from Alaska, and cooperation in enforcing the various provisions of
the act of Congress of May 25, 1900. The letters received during the
year numbered about 5,400. Many of these were accompanied by
schedules or reports, while others contained material also of permanent
value. During the same period about 4,000 letters were written and
800 blank migration and other schedules were distributed to observers.
The collection of photographic negatives made by members of the
Biological Survey while in the field now numbers over 6,000, and is of
constantly increasing value for purposes of study and illustration.

OUTLINE OF WORK FOR THE YEAR 1904.

SECTION OF GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.

Field work in California for the fiscal year 1903-1904 will include a
continuation of the biological survey of the foothill belt of the Sierra
Nevada, a biological reconnaissance of some of the coast valleys, and a
comprehensive study of the food habits of birds in a number of the
important fruit-growing districts of the State. Some of the forest
reserves of the Pacific slope will be visited for the purpose of deter-
mining their fitness for game refuges. It is hoped that a suitable home

may be found for the herd of elk in Kern County, Calif., generously
presented to the Government by Miller and Lux, and for such other
game as may be received by the Government for the protection neces-
sary to prevent its extinction.

In Texas, field work in the Panhandle region will be finished, con-
necting and finally completing the labors of previous years. The

DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 493

results of this work will be included in a report on a biological survey
of Texas, now well advanced toward publication.

Field work in New Mexico will be continued; northern and central
Mexico will be visited for the purpose of completing former field work;
and exploration in Alaska will be conducted in the northern spurs of
the Rocky Mountains, about the upper and middle Yukon, and sens
some of the islands of the southern part of the Territory. A report
on the work done about the base of the Alaska Peninsula in the sum-
mer of 1902 is nearly ready for the press, and will appear shortly.
Explorations in the province of Mackenzie will be continued, and an
effort will be made to determine the northern ranges and distribution
of various forms of boreal life, so as to supplement the work already
done about Great Slave Lake and Athabasca River and to furnish
material for a report on the general region.

SECTION OF ECONOMIC ORNITHOLOGY.

The economic study of birds in the fruit orchards of California will
be continued through the summer and early fall in order to ascertain
the relation of certain important species to the horticulturist and ranch-
man. It is believed that careful field observations, supplemented by
stomach examinations, will settle the question as to whether certain spe-
cies are beneficial as destroyers of insects and weed seeds or injurious
as devourers of fruit and grain. ‘The results of these investigations
will appear in a bulletin on ‘‘ The economic relations of the birds of
the Pacific slope.”

Many parts of our country are subject to periodic invasions of nox-
ious insects, which, by preying upon the farmers’ crops, cause heavy
financial losses. It is believed that if competent trained observers
were sent to infested localities at the time such insects are in the act
of devastating the crops much of value might be learned as to the con-
trolling influence of \Sirds in lessening the extent of the destruction
and in checking the increase of the pests. With this object in view it
is planned to investigate such outhreaks as may hereafter occur, in
cooperation with the Division of Entomology, by sending a member
of the Survey, when such a course is practicable, to study carefully the
food habits of birds in the infested district.

For a number of years efforts have been made to-secure stomachs of
birds in certain yroups of economic importance (as the upland game
birds, flyeatchers, swallows, thrushes, and titmice), and as soon as
enough material to insure safe conclusions has been received reports
covering the food habits of the species included in these groups will
be published. With regard to certain groups concerning whose eco-
nomic status much supplementary stomach material has come in, it is
desirable to revise and supplement the earlier publications as soon as
practicable. In the case of the woodpeckers, for example, more addi-
tional stomachs have been received than were used in the preparation
of the original report.

It is expected that the bulletin on the food habits of the woodcock
and upland game birds will be ready for publication before the close
of the current year. The data for this investigation have been
obtained by field observations and by laboratory examinations of more
than 1,500 stomachs. The result shows that game birds do compar-
atively little harm to crops, while they consume large quantities of
injurious insects and noxious weed seeds. Since game birds, in addi-

494 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS.

tion to their usefulness in connection with agriculture, have a high
value as items of food and objects of sport, their habits deserve espe-
cially careful study.

SECTION OF GAME PROTECTION.

Plans for the coming year contemplate work upon a somewhat
broader scale than heretofore. In addition to the issue of bulletins
and posters containing summaries of the game laws, a report on
game commissions and methods of enforcing game laws will be com-
pleted, and several circulars relating to topics of special interest in
connection with game protection will be prepared. To enable the
office to meet the numerous demands made upon it for information
regarding game laws, a bibliography on this subject has been begun,
as well as an abstract of the more important decisions of the courts
which have a bearing on game protection. Work along both these
lines will be continued during the year.

Certain species of game birds, notably the wood duck, woodcock,
and upland plover, are rapidly becoming rare, and efforts will be made
to obtain information respecting their present abundance in certain
sections. It is proposed, if practicable, to make an investigation of
the ducking grounds along the Atlantic coast, and also to obtain accu-
rate information regarding the breeding colonies of certain water
birds on the Pacific coast with a view to suggesting means for their
protection.

Legislation of the past spring has made the Lacey Act effective in
some States where heretofore shipment of game has been practically
unrestricted. During the coming season special attention will be paid
to the shipment of upland game from the States immediately west
of the Mississippi and of waterfowl from the Southwest. Data will
be collected respecting the methods employed by the trade in cap-
turing, shipping, and storing game. In this connection attention is
called to the fact that under present laws while the shipper may be
made to pay the penalty for forwarding game illegally, it is almost
impossible to convict the consignee oragent. The consignee is usually
directly responsible for unlawful shipments of game, in that he offers
the inducements through which the violations occur, and often lends
direct aid to the shipper by furnishing information as to how the laws
may be successfully evaded. Additional legislation will be necessary
to fully overcome this difficulty.

Under the Alaska game law, regulations will be issued with a view
to restricting export of heads and hides and furnishing special protec-
tion to certain kinds of big game. The caribou of the Kenai Peninsula
and the walrus are both greatly reduced in numbers, and a close season
of five years will be established for these species. In view of the large
number of persons who visit the Kenai Peninsula to hunt big game,
provision should be made at an early date for the appointment of
wardens, to be charged with the enforcement of the game law, at least
during the open season. Should an appropriation be made for this
purpose it will be possible to make the law effective on the Kenai Pen-
insula and at other exposed points in the Territory at comparatively
small cost.

BIRD MIGRATION.

During the current year bulletins on ‘* Migration of North American
warblers” and ‘‘ Migration and protection of shore birds ” will be pub-

DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 495

lished and a report on bird migration in the Mackenzie Valley will be
completed. The latter will show that the movements of birds in this
region, so far as known, appear to differ from those in any other part.
of the world. It will be accompanied by maps intended to explain how
these strange phenomena of migration are caused by the progression
of the season.

During the last two years an investigation has been in progress
concerning the migrations and winter ranges of 126 species of land
birds which pass the winter in places south “of the eastern part of the
United States. It is expected that this work will furnish material for
a study of the general problem of the bearing of migration routes of
North American birds on the question of the origin of migration and
the routes of dispersion on this continent.

Cd
RECOMMENDATIONS.

The Biological Survey is charged by Congress with three distinct
lines of work, each of coordinate value with the or dinary departmental

division.” These are: (1) Section of geographic distribution; (2)
section of economic ornithology; (8) section of game protection.

In submitting estimates for the fiscal year 1905 the following rec-
ommendations are respectfully made:

(1) That the Biological Survey be reorganized asa bureau with three
sections as separate divisions.

(2) That an increase in the statutory roll of $1,450 be granted to
enable the Secretary to reorganize the Biological Survey as a bureau
of the Department.

(3) That an increase of $12,000 in the lump fund be granted to pro-
vide for the greatly increased demands for information and field work
on geographic distribution, economic ornithology, and game preserva-
tion, and to enable the Survey to retain the services of trained
assistants.

(4) That an increase of $4,000 be granted to enable the Secretary to
transport, fence, and maintain elk and other animals on forest reserves
and other public lands. This is the minimum amount necessary to
make a real beginning, since the current appropriation of $1,000 for

the purpose has proved utterly inadequate.