THE WHITNEY COLLECTING EXPEDITION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19759, 9 April 1926, Page 2

THE WHITNEY COLLECTING EXPEDITION.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir— The remarks made by Mr Beck, who is in’charge of the Whitney Co lection Exn edition, are noted. He dwells on the amazing number of certain sea birds met and on the operations of the skua gull, no doubt with the object of minimising the effect of his operations. Now this skua gull has been operating probably for thousands of years, and yet there are vast numbers of sea birds, penguins, etc., still in existence. Mr Beck must well know that even skua gulls have their Place 1 controlling the balance of Nature. Amencan bird-collecting parties have not. then, a .ruin, so far as these amazing numbers aic concerned, the American passengei pigeon, Labrador duck, and othei species were once amazingly plentiful in and around America so much so that the flights of the former bud at times obscured the sun. The Americans, however, got busy on them, and they, with othei species, are now extinct. Mi Beck will probably think it is wise that we here should lea™ by tbe Americans’ past mistakes and endeavour to avoid similar results. But neither this society nor anyone else so far has has been noticed has protested particularly against the taking of sea birds known to be in great numbers. VVhat the New Zealand Native Bird Protection Society and others have objected to. and do obiec* to, is thru- such an expedition should be J mven a free and unsupervised hand. TlnAhe Whitney expedition had. as no representative of New Zealand was with the ship France while the party waa operating. Objection is also taken to ■ land buds, almost if not quite extinct, being included such, as the Chatham Island pigeon, tho largest and one of the most beautiful pigeons in existence, which is reporeed from the Chathams as probably down to 20 nu “‘ bers, while several other species peculiar t small areas are almost Hr Beck may have got the last pair. Others are so rare as to require all the conservation possible. Mr Beck, it is noticed, does not remark on these matters. No one, howevei, can blame Mr Beck, who has no doubt, the interests and welfare of his particular American museum at heart, and if he can “put it over" the local authorities and get wliat he requires then he will no doubt be congratulated on his return home If the whole history of this deplorable business was available it is telt Mi Beck would not appear in a bad light. What is required is that the authorities here should recognise that our birds are the properly of the New Zealand people, and require much better conservation and attention than is now in evidence, otherwise they will suffer the fate of many species in other lands.—l am, etc., E. V. Sanderson, Ron. Secretary, New Zealand Native Bird Protection Society. March 29.