Protection of Magpies

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 274, 15 August 1932, Page 11

Protection of Magpies

Sir, —As one taking a great interest in acclimatisation matters and the holder of a ranger's warrant in a district some distance from Wellington I wag greatly interested in your article appearing yesterday re the destructiveness of the magpie. That the time has come to remove the protection now on magpies there is little doubt.' There are many instances of the destructiveness of this pest which I can vouch for, and I will mention two cases coming diyectly under my notice this season. The first was the destruction of a brood of young pheasants.— some were dead, some partially eaten, and the magpie was caught in the act of killing one chick which was carried away and then dropped when the magpie was disturbed. The second case was when on a farm the destruction of chickens by the magpie had just been reported, and within a few minutes of such report I observed the magpie swoop down and bowl over the mother of the chicks —an Indian game hen. With reference to the usefulness of the magpie, one must use a high stretch of imagination when saying that this bird is a destroyer of insect pests. It mav find a stray grass grub occasionally,‘but the birds would need to increase to the numbers of the starling and acquire the burrowing habits of these grub eaters to be of any service to farm lands, but when that time arrived farm birds and native birds would all be exterminated by the magpie. The starling is undoubtedly a wonderful insect eater and is worth thousands to the farmer, but the least said in endeavouring to protect the magpie the better. Protection should be removed without delay if we are to save imported game birds and our native birds. —I am, etc., “COUNTRY RANGER.” August-12.