How many people ever think of the quail in any other light than as a delicious morsel to be served up on toast for dinner? The quail is not only useful because of the insects which it destroys, but is a most wonderfully interesting and attractive bird. If you have ever disturbed a mountain quail with a brood of young, you will never forget what an interesting sight the mother presented as she strutted back and forth on a log, warning her little ones to keep out of sight.
Finley & Bohlman
A white heron.
Quail eat over a hundred kinds of insects, and happy should be that farmer who can get them to come about his home. Can you find it in your heart to shoot the father bird, as, perched upon some sightly point, he watches for danger while the mother just off the nest with her little brood feeds trustfully under his care?
The hunting of quail for market is now prohibited by law. But before protection came market hunters were known to carry out the most cruel methods in order to bag the quail in large numbers. In the drier parts of our country, the springs where quail came to drink were covered until the thirsty birds gathered in large numbers. In this way the hunters were able to obtain all they wanted.
Finley & Bohlman
Gulls and terns on their resting ground.
Let us henceforth show by our kindness and good will to the living things around us that we are not merciless savages, thinking only of something to eat, but rather that we appreciate their presence and the great good that they do.