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IMPORTED SONG-BIRDS. 



Foreign song-birds are much desired in this country for aesthe- 

 tic reasons, but the Government is not disposed to encourage their 

 importation, fearing lest they prove the reverse of a blessing. 

 The skylark, so generally admired, and which has been made 

 celebrated by poets, is a grain-destroyer in Scandinavia — for 

 which reason the Bureau of Mammals and Birds has recom- 

 mended that no more of this species shall be admitted. 



Already a colony of imported skylarks has been successfully 

 established near Portland, Oregon, and there is another at Flat- 

 bush, in the outskirts of Brooklyn. People often say: "Listen 

 to the singing of the skylark !" Appreciative of its melody, they 

 are glad that the bird should have been brought to us from foreign 

 parts. As a matter of fact, however, it is the voice of the native 

 thrush that they hear. They heard the same voice long before the 

 skylark arrived on the scene, but did not listen. 



The starling (a pretty bird that lives in large flocks) has been 

 successfully imported from Europe, and is now quite plentiful 

 along the Hudson River. It has not done any damage yet, so 

 far as known, but in New Zealand, where it has been likewise 

 introduced, it has taken to eating cherries and other fruit, and is 

 regarded as a pest. The trouble is that a bird harmless in its 

 native habitat may adopt new habits when transported to a dif- 

 ferent clime. In such matters it is safest to leave Nature alone. 



The English sparrow is not a nuisance of much importance in 

 the Old World, but how glad we should be to get rid of it ! There 

 is no hope, however — as may be judged from the experience of 

 Bermuda, where this feathered pest has been domesticated. The 

 total area of Bermuda is only forty-eight square miles, and yet in 

 a war waged between the authorities and the sparrow the latter 

 has come out emphatically a victor. Bounties paid for the 

 destruction of the "rat of the air," as somebody once called it, 

 nearly bankrupted the insular treasury without reducing appre- 

 ciably the numbers of the birds. 



Where game birds are concerned, our Government has no 

 hesitation about permitting their introduction. They are large 

 enough to be shot, and, if they become too numerous at any 

 time, they can be reduced to the requisite extent by declaring an 

 open season and inviting the sportsmen to tackle them without 

 hindrance. — Saturday Evening Post. 



