WAYS OF THE WILD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 237, 7 October 1933, Page 1 (Supplement)

WAYS OF THE WILD.

EXTERMINATION OF BIRDS.

IN RECENT TIMES

(By A. T. PYCKOFT.)

In considering the causes of extermination, tlio late Sir J. A. Thomson states that we must in fairness remember that, altogether apart from ruthless persecution on mans part, birds may be forced to relinquish their old quarters because human habitations and cultivations encroach on wild nature. It seems that good forestry diminishes the number of birds. In Britain a cause of extermination -is game preserving, for in its interests there has been a persistent and effective destruction of birds of prey. This is lamentable, not only because of the disappearance of handsome and interesting birds, but also because their removal affords opportunity for mice and other destructive pests. It is a matter for deep regret that several species of New Zealand birds are becoming scarcer. On the other hand, some species are increasing. Not only from a zoological but also from an economic point of view, our people cordially welcome what is being done in the way of judicious bird protection, not only by penal legislation, but also positively by the establishment of bird sanctuaries. Dr. Beebe says in his book "The Bird": "Let us beware of needlessly destroying even one cf the lives so sublimely crowning the ages upon ages of evolving; and let us put forth all our efforts to save a threatened species from extinction, to give hearty aid to the last few individuals pitifully struggling to avoid absolute annihilation. The beauty and genius of a work of art may be conceived though its first material expression be destroyed, a vanished harmony may yet again inspire the composer, but when the last individual of a race of living beings breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again." A Ponderous Pigeon. The dodo, a ponderous pigeon, was found inhabiting Mauritius when that island was rediscovered by the Dutch at the end of the sixteenth century. Clumsy, flightless, and defenceless, :it soon succumbed, not so much to the human invaders of its realm as to the domestic beasts—especially hogs—which accompanied them. There is no evidence of its survival after 1681. Besides the dodo, Mauritius has lost at least two parrots, a dove, a large coot, and a longbilled flightless bird called Aphanapteryx. Reunion has lost a peculiar starling and other birds. Rodriquez haei lost an owl, a parrot, a dove, a heron, a rail, and indeed most of its bird tenantry. The same is true of other islands. The Chatham Islands quite recently contained two species of rail and a bellbird, all now extinct. At Stephen Island in Cook Strait in 1594 a lightkeeper's cat brought in eleven specimens of a wren. A few more captures were made and duly reported by the cat, and then no more birds were brought in. Oliver states that it is evident, therefore, that the cat which discovered the species also immediately exterminated it. In both the North and South Islands and the Great Barrier Island a quail was formerly abundant. It has been extinct since iS7O. Tires which destroyed their food and cover as well as the birds were mainly responsible for its extermination. The huia, a bird only formerly found in the North Island, is probably also extinct, and is therefore perhaps one of the best known of recent exterminations. The great auk, a relative of the common guillemot and razorbill of Britain, was exterminated about 1844. It used to be abundant in northern seas, especially round Newfoundland. Another striking case is that of the Labrador duck, which used to be extremely abundant on the North American Atlantic coast. There is no certain record of it since 1552. Four skins_ and a few bones are all that remain of a fine cormorant frcrtn Bohring Island in the North Pacific. Half a dozen museums can boast a specimen of the liiamo, of the Sandwich Islands, a victim to its gorgeous yellow feathers, which were used to decorate the state robes of the chiefs. Many other examples could be added to this list. The Oldest Known Bird.

We feel sure that birds arose from some ancient reptilian or saurian stock, but we cannot, at present, be more precise as to the particular pedigree. The lithographic stone of Bavaria has yielded two well preserved skeletons of walit is as yet the oldest known bird Arcliaeopteryx. The grain of the stone

is so fine that the impressions of the feathers are well seen, and most of the bones are clear except the breast bone. It was about the size of a crow, and probably arboreal, and many of its characters are not far from typical, such as the general shape of the* skull, the merry thought and the legs. In other respects, however, it was reptile like, in having, for instance, teeth in both jaws, a long tail like a lizard, and three clawed fingers. A quite unique feature was the arrangement of the quill feathers of the tail in a double row, a pair to each of the twenty vertebrae. It was a strange, primitive creature, but when we consider characters like the skull, the wing, the merry thought and the legs, we see plainly that Arcliaeopteryx could not have been the first bird, though it is the oldest of which we have any record. The late Sir J. A. Thomson states that to realise in detail what the transition from reptile to bird implies we must remember that warm bloodedliess, or the power of retaining a constant body temperature, high temperature, which is an index to the intensity of the chemical metabolism in the body; great development of the integumentary lieat retaining out growths — the feathers; enormous muscular development; a lightly built skeleton, dipedal progression, and. the associated strong and" long hip girdle; the fore limbs turned into wings; the associated stiff back and strong shoulder girdle; the horny bill replacing heavy teeth, and, at the end of the long, flexible neck, doing the work of the lost hand; the splendidly developed heart; the lungs and their air sacs, which effect internal perspiration, there being no external sweating, help to regulate the body temperature; the large brain; the keen senses of sight and hearing; the full free life; the emotional development which is expressed in song and dance, the economisation of rcproductivity rendered possible by the parental care — these and other characteristics are bound together in that bundle of adaptations which wo call a bird. But we arc left wondering how the transition came about. How the 'slow, cold-blooded, scaly .beast ever became transformed into the quick, hotblooded feathered bird, the joy ol creation.