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Show HUE BIRDS ALMOST EXTIiUCT Eskimo Curlew Covers Ellipse 6,000 Miles Long and 2,000 Miles Wide. Unless Immediate and radical action Is taken by the governments of two widely separated countries, one of tho most remarkablo and picturosque members of the bird families will soon become extinct. Tho United alone cannot save the Eskimo curlew; It must havo tho hearty co-operation of tho Argentine republic. Tho Eskimo curlew Is chiefly remarkable re-markable for its long annual migration, migra-tion, only two other birds exceed the distanco covered every year by tho curlew and neither of these birds ever existed In the enormous numbers the curlew did until a few years ago. The curlew's migration covers an ellpse C.000 miles long and 2,000 miles wide. Thls feat Is surpassed only by the knot and tho tern. Tho arctic tern, which holds all bird records for lontr distanco fllcht. nests on the land nearest tho north polo and annually takes an aerial cruise to tho edge of the antarctic pack, a thosand miles or moro beyond (he southern tip of South America, Another champion flyer is tho knot, which brcedB also near the north pole and spends his winters in bleak Patagonia Pata-gonia or even more distant Terra del Fuego. A distance of 0,500 miles separates sep-arates the knot's summor and winter habitats. But neither the knot nor the tern ever were as numerous as were the curlews until a few years ago. They used to travel in enormous flocks, in closer formation than the German army, a fact which had much to do with their near-extermination. Tho principal breeding range of tho cur-low cur-low was on the Barren Grounds near the arctic coast in tho northern part of the Canadian province of Mackenzie Macken-zie The birds winterod for the most part In the campos region of southern Argentina and northern Patagonia. As soon as tho fledglings wero largo enough to care for themselves, old and young hastened to tho coast of Labrador Lab-rador to feast on tho socalled "curlew berries." After a few weeks of gorging gorg-ing thoy flew across tho Gulf of St. Lawrence to Nova Scotia and thence launched out over the ocean for a 2,400 mile flight. Reaching South America they crossed tho eastern part of Brazil to their winter resort in Patagonia. In spring tho whole course of their migration was abandoned and the cur-lows cur-lows made their way north by a route some thousands of mllos farther west over the prairies of the Mississippi valley. Hero tho bird was abundant and well known. It arrived in Texas In early March and journeyed at a leisurely pace toward the breeding grounds, being common in April from Kansas to South Dakota. These enormous flocks now exist only In memory; scarcely a dozen individual in-dividual birds have been seen in tho last dozen years The causo of their disappearance is not far to seek. The Eskimo curlew was undisturbed by human foes during the whole of its summer sojourn In tho arctic, and only a small percentage wore shot on tho Labrador coast; but aftor arriving in Argentina in the middle of Septem-ber, Septem-ber, for a five months' stay, the birds scattered over the pampas and wore continually a mark for hungry sportsmen. sports-men. Later, from early March to early May, tho flocks were beset by gunners gun-ners on the Texas and Kansas' prairies. prair-ies. As long as the Argentina campos and the United states prairies were the home of the cattleman, the Eskimo Eski-mo curlew lessened in numbers only gradually; but lately, especially since 1880, with Its winter home in Argentina Argen-tina changed to a great wheat field, and its favorite prairie sod in our west converted into thickly populated farm lands, no chance for life has been loft to the curlew. Of all tho birds which adopt this migration mi-gration route, the Eskimo curlew suffered suf-fered most from man's onslaught, probably because of Its habit of congregating con-gregating in close flocks instead of tho loose, straggling parties of Its migration mi-gration companions. Audubon noticed notic-ed this peculiarity on the Labrador coast and says that when the birds were feeding on the ground they kept so close together that half a dozen could bo killed at a single shot, and that when they started in flight the whole flock gathered in a bunch, thus ghing still further opportunity for wholesale slaughter. |