Page 43 - Our Vanishing Wild Life

CANDIDATES FOR OBLIVION
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oblivion. Fouryearsago,—alongperiodforaspeciesthatisontheedge of extermination,—Mr. E. H. Forbush* wrote of it as follows:
"The Bartramian Sandpiper, commonly known as the Upland Plover, a bird which formerly bred on grassy hills all over the State and migrated southward along our coasts in great flocks, is in imminent danger of extirpation. AfewstillbreedinWorcesterandBerkshireCounties,or Nantucket, so there is still a nucleus which, if protected, may save the
species. Fivereportsfromlocalitieswherethisbirdformerlybredgive itasnearingextinction,andfourasex.inct. Thisisoneofthemostuse- ful of all birds in grass land, feeding largely on grasshoppers and cutworms. Itisoneofthefinestofallbirdsforthetable. Aneffortshouldbemade at once to save this usefiil species."
The Black-Capped Petrel, (Aestrelata hasitata).—This species is already recorded in the A. O. U. "Check list" as extinct; but it appears thatthismaynotasyetbeabsolutelytrue. OnJanuary1, 1912,astrange thing happened. A much battered and exhausted black-capped petrel was picked up alive in Central Park, New York, taken to the menagerie, andkeptthereduringthefewdaysthatitsurvived. Whenitdieditwas sent to the American Museum ; and this may easily prove to be the last living record for that species. In reality, this species might as well be listed with those totally extinct. Formerly it ranged from the Antilles to Ohio and Ontario, and the causes of its blotting out are not yet defi- nitely known.
This ocean-going bird once had a wide range overseas in the temper- ateareasoftheNorthAtlantic. ItisrecordedfromUlsterCounty,New York, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and Florida. It was about of the size of the common tern.
The California Condor, (Gymnogyps californianus) —I feel that the existence of this species hangs on a very slender thread. This is due to its alarmingly small range, the insignificant number of individuals now living, the openness of the species to attack, and the danger of its ex- tinction by poison. Originally this remarkable bird,—the largest North American bird of prey, —ranged as far northward as the Columbia River,andsouthwardforanunknowndistance. Nowitsrangeisreduced to seven counties in southern California, although it is said to extend from Monterey Bay to Lower California, and eastward to Arizona.
Regarding the present status and the future of this bird, I have been greatlydisturbedinmind. Whenauniqueandzoologicallyimportant species becomes reduced in its geographic range to a small section of a singlestate,itseemstomequitetimeforalarm. ForsometimeIhave counted this bird as one of those threatened with early extermination, and as I think with good reason. In view of the swift calamities that now seem able to fall on species like thunderbolts out of clear skies, and wipe them off the earth even before we know that such a fate is impend-
*" Special Report on the Decrease of Certain Birds, and its Causes." —IMass. State Board of Agriculture, 1908.
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