NATURE—AND MAN

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 100, 8 April 1936, Page 11

NATURE—AND MAN

Birds in the Bush THE PITILESS COLLECTOR (Edited by Leo Fanning.) “A bird in the bush is worth two in the hand” is a necessary amendment of an old proverb made by Charles S. Bayne (author of “Exploring England”) on the title page of his excellent booklet “Birds in the Bush,” issued by the British Royal Society lor the Protection of Birds. It is a great pity (he writes) that birds have to be protected at all. They add so much interest and pleasure to life by their beauty, their grace, their songs, and their various activities that they ought to require no artificial protection. But all their delightful qualities cannot save them from wanton destruction at the hands of egg and skin collectors. There are two kinds of egg collectors, the boy who as a rule is casual, and the adult who is always systematic, and because of that is callous and utterly regardless of every consideration but his own selfish interests. The skin collector (continues Air Bayne) works in a similar way to the egg collector. He is not satisfied with one of each species, but must have a series, and he bribes men to shoot the birds for him, whether they are protected by law or not. Naturally he pays most for the skins of the rarest birds, and the skins of such birds increase in commercial value the nearer the species are brought to extinction. “THE PERSECUTION OF WILD BIRDS.” In another booklet, issued by the same Royal Society, Captain L. G. Somervell remarks: The genuine collectors ol specimens and species—they are the cause of harm beyond all imagination; there are men (we could name some) who for very shame dare not show their collections even to friends. These people sin with full knowledge that they sin, but without one scruple of hesitation they carry on. Aloney has entered the field; so much for each species, eggs, etc., a regular trade of greatest wrong and shame; even honour goes by the board. Two examples are worth recalling: one of these people applied for and received leave to photograph the nesting of a certain sea-bird protected by the landowner. He got the necessary leave to photograph, giving his word of honour as to his intentions; but his camera was a dummy, it was a well-camouflaged chest of drawers lined with cotton wool. Another heard of a colony of a rare bird, and went there; he camo back with over 400 eggs, and the corpses of “a representative number” of these birds—he destroyed the whole colony. VITAL NEED OF SANCTUARIES. Against such deadly enemies (says Air Bayne) what chance has a bird which already has a hard struggle for its very existence? Laws, howevev stringent they may be, are not powerful enough to protect it. The only effective means of stopping the shameful trade and saving rare birds for the nation, is the formation of a sanctuaries in which the birds and their nests are under the care of zealous and reliable paid watchers. Alany areas in various parts of the country, which are the recognised nesting haunts of some of our rarer birds, have during the past quarter of a century been formed into such re serves and placed under the charge of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and other bodies. In every case the arrangement has fully justified itself. Birds which were fast dying out are gradually recovering their former status under the influence of intelligent protection, and in at least one instance interesting birds, which formerly nested in this country but had been driven from their favoured haunts by the action of collectors, are re-establishing themselves as breeding species. That is an achievement that was well worth working for and one for which all lovers of birds must be grateful. Similar results can be obtained in other quarters. Stimulated by the success of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, various authorities have founded or are founding sanctuaries in city parks and elsewhere. Besides safeguarding birds while they are within those areas, they are making the reserves more attractive by planting, wherever necessary, bushes and other suitable plants which will provide cover and food for a variety of species. By this method several interesting birds have been drawn to the sanctuary in Hyde Park, London, which had previously not been seen in London for many years. The spirit of the thing is catching. It is spreading throughout the country and every year new areas are acquired and converted into sanctuaries. People are beginning to realise that they are in danger of losing something worth keeping. 1 hope that in time public opinion will become too strong for those wealthy and shameless collectors who persecute our birds for their own selfish ends, hut until that ideal is reached Nature lovers everywhere must do everything in their power to help those who are actively engaged in the splendid but difficult work of uro tection. Alany thousands of New Zealanders know well that their forest and Bird Protection Society has a very active policy which has been warmly praised by the Royal Society. THE CHARMING HABITS OF BIRDS Air Bayne has heart-warming words on the charming habits of birds. Bird dances (he remarks) are closely related to the courtship . displays which are practised by all species. Some of these are simple, others elaborate, and most of them are done in silence. They vary according to the species. The goldfinch expands his wings alternately to show his golden burs, the woodpigeon bows before his lady love, or mounting ten or twenty feet in the air, glides down cowards her with wings halt open, thus showing the beauty of his back and his white wing bars. Other species, for example the ducks and grebes, indulge in exhibitions which involve several hgures. The common whitethroat and others add to their appeal a practical suggestion of nest building by taking some material in the beak and placing it in a likely position, and frequently a male bird at the end of his demonstration will either caress his mate or present her with some tit-bit. Nest building soon follows the betrothal, and in this the lien bird lor the first time takes the lead. In some species she does the whole of the work, in others the male may bring (he ’ material which she weaves into her

cosy structure. Both sexes of longtailed tit take their full share of the labour of fetching and felting the many thousand tiny scraps of moss, lichen, and feathers which make up their wonderful nursery, and in one species, the rare bearded tit, the male seems to add the " hole of the lining.