78 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



sparrow or the green linnet is not, I fear, to be expected, but 

 that the plague can be kept under control so as to cease to be 

 a serious matter I firmly believe. That can be accomplished, 

 however, by no spasmodic efforts, but by waging the war 

 against the small depredators at all times and seasons from 

 vear's end to year's end. Bad as things are now, they will 

 become worse unless some really systematic efforts are made 

 to combat the pest. Miss Ormerod and Mr. Tegetmeier, 

 speaking of the extent of the damage done by sparrows in 

 England, say, " The amount of the national loss by reason 

 of ravaged crops and serviceable birds driven away may be 

 estimated without fear of exaggeration at from one to two 

 millions a year." What our ovvn losses are no one can tell, 

 but they must already amount to a very large sum. As 

 regards the introduction of the natural enemies, that is 

 a matter which would best be undertaken by the Govern- 

 ment. 



I may, in conclusion, refer to an objection that some will 

 raise to our introducing any predatory birds into the colony. 

 Such people will say, " Look at the introduction of stoats and 

 weasels to kill the rabbits ; our interesting ground-feedmg 

 birds are gone, while the rabbit still flourishes ! So will it be 

 if such birds as you advocate are introduced; our dwindling 

 band of native songsters will disappear, while the perky spar- 

 row will still thrive and multiply." To such I would x'eply 

 that none would mourn the loss of our native birds more than 

 I should, but the situation demands the risk. Every school- 

 bov who has gone bird-nesting knows that the nests of our 

 native birds are much more difficult to find than those of the 

 imported birds, and I doubt not that the magpie or shrike 

 would find enough of the clumsy conspicuous nests of the 

 sparrows or the easily-discoverable nests of the blackbirds and 

 thrushes to supply their requirements with little trouble to 

 themselves, so that the scarcer and better-hidden nests of our 

 native birds would generally escape. 



Since the foregoing was written a Proclamation has been 

 issued under the Birds Nuisance Act dividing the South Island 

 into eight districts, and cieclaring the house-sparrow, yellow- 

 hammer, and greenfinch to be injurious birds. The first and the 

 last named are rightly placed in that category, but the second 

 is not, so far as I am aware, numerous anywhere in tlie colony; 

 and, if it were, I do not think it would ever become a nuisance 



at least, it was not, like the green linnet and sparrow, looked 



on as an injurious bird in Britain when I was a boy. A few 

 yeilowhammers [Emberiza cilrunella) were turned out here in 

 the early days of acclimatisation, and though they throve for 

 a time they eventually died out. At the same time the cirl 

 bunting {Emberiza cirlus) was introduced, and increased much 



