36 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS 



ance or defend the indiscriminate destruction of 

 birds purely for the sake of killing, we maintain 

 that the capture of these wanderers does not 

 injuriously affect the species in the slightest degree, 

 but, on the other hand, is a direct service to the 

 science of ornitholog3^ Their capture is often of 

 great importance, and the thanks of all systematic 

 ornithologists are due to the collector of every 

 abnormal avine visitor to British shores. We often 

 hear of a burst of indignation greeting the publica- 

 tion of such a capture, but wrath of this kind is as 

 untimely as it is out of place. None of these 

 wanderers will ever succeed in establishing the 

 species in our area ; avine colonisation does not 

 depend upon such methods, and if every rare 

 abnormal visitor were left severely alone, the net 

 result would be precisely the same. But a certain 

 amount of discrimination is absolutely necessary, 

 especially in spring. For instance, the Hoopoe 

 arrives on our southern shores so frequently in 

 spring, that there is the possibility of these visits 

 being normal. The bird should therefore be left to 

 rear its young in peace if so minded ; and I would 

 have every rascal pilloried that dared to shoot one 

 of these curious and charming creatures. But such 

 species as the Bee-eater, the Yellow-browed Willow 



