NATURE-AND MAN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 64, 16 March 1936, Page 10

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”) and the title page of his excelr lent booklet “Birds in the Bush,” issued by the British Royal Society for 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 !u life by their beauty, their grace, then songs, and their various activities that they ought, to require no artificial pro tectiou. But all their delightful quaii Les cannot save (hen* 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 Mr. 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 comercial 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. Sonivell remarks:—The genuine collectors of 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. Money hasentered the field; to much for each species, eggs, etc., a uguiar trade of greatest wrong an I 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 came back with over 400 eggs, and the corpses of ‘‘a ."epre-emat ive lumber ’ ? of these birds—he destroyed the whole Vital Need of Against such deadly enemies (-ays Mr. Bayne) what chance has a bird which already has a hard strugg.e for its \ cry existence? Laws, however stringent they may be, are not powerful enough to protect it. The only ef- : feetivc means of stopping the shameful trade and saving rare birds for the uat'on. is the fo.’m.i'. on of sane* caries in which the birds a.d their n:cs are under the care of zealous and reliable pa'-l watchers, i Many areas in various parts of Ihe eovDtn, which are the recognised nesting haunts of some of our rarer birds, have during the past quarter of a century been formed into such reserves 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 Pro-j tectiou 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, whenever 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. Jt 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. I 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, but 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 protection. Many 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 bars, the woodpigeon bows before his lady love, or mounting 10 or 20 feet in the air, glides down towards her with wings half 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 figures. 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 hen bird for the first time takes the lead. In some species she does the whole of the work, in others the male may bring the 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 whole of the lining.