BIRD NEWS 



EGYPTIAN BIRDS 



Mr. Charles Whymper, the well 

 known ornithological artist, has re- 

 cently issued a valuable book "to 

 assist the many travellers and others 

 who now annually visit Egypt to 

 Identify the birds which they will see 

 in the Nile Valley. To the ornitholo- 

 gical commuter, who daily travels 

 molewards and notes the bird life 

 as demonstrated on the mud flats 

 and marshes, — those unromantic 

 areas, of scenic approach to Alameda 

 and Oakland — and sees there the 

 restless Sandpiper, the phlegmatic 

 Gull or the aristocratic Heron, would 

 perhaps, when "doing the land of 

 the Pharohs, feel a touch of the 

 fraternity that makes all the world 

 kin, when he saw the birds of home 

 outlined against the shadow of the 

 Pyramids or wandering amidst the 

 lonely silence of the Sands of Isis. 

 Such a traveler could not fail to ap- 

 preciate Mr. Whymper when he says 

 of the Heron — He lends his pictur- 

 esque form to Egyptian scenery, just 

 as he does to our homely American 

 waters or wilder Scotch lochs; he 

 always, somehow, goes well with the 

 landscape. Shelley says, "It may be 

 seen in considerable numbers in com- 

 pany with Spoonbills, Pelicans, and 

 oHier waders." And it is one of the 

 curious facts about bird life here, 

 that so many of the birds that we 

 know only as solitary and not at all 

 given to consorting in flocks, either 

 with their own species or any other; 

 save at breeding stations, frequently 

 do show a complete difference of 

 habit in this respect in this country, 

 seven birds flying towards us. The 

 I remember seeing a singular line of 

 first was a Heron, then a Spoonbill, 

 then a Heron followed by two Spoon- 

 bills, and the straight line ended with 



two Herons, all so close together, the 

 bill of one nearly touching the tail 

 of the other, and all keeping time 

 with the utmost precision. 



To enumerate all the places I have 

 watched this bird at is unnecessary, 

 as at one time or another I have 

 seen it everywhere. 



Raise Game Birds 



United States does not make good 

 use of its great possibilities. It is a 

 notable fact that the older countries, 

 for example, Germany and England, 

 have now a far greater number of 

 birds per square mile than has proba- 

 bly any State in the Union. In other 

 Vv'ords, the annual bird crop in Eng- 

 land, Germany and France is able in 

 a much greater measure than with us 

 to control the insects injurious to veg- 

 etation, and to provide a surplus of 

 game birds for food to such an extent 

 even that at least two species of wild 

 plover, in addition to semi-domestica- 

 ted pheasants and grouse, are export- 

 ed from these countries to Boston and 

 New York markets, and sold at 

 price less than that at which our na- 

 tive game is offered. Well-advised 

 and extensive operations for develop- 

 ing our bird population, for the pur- 

 pose of providing an adeqquate safe- 

 guard against the advances of insect 

 pests, for example, the gypsy moth, 

 cut worms and other noxious insects, 

 are necssary, as well as to maintain 

 an aesthetic asset of the State, and to 

 provide game birds for food and rec- 

 reation. Action should be taken par- 

 ticularly by enacting such laws as 

 will not alone permit encourage the 

 rearing of birds of all species under 

 suitable conditions by people who are 

 properly qualified to undertake the 

 work, either for pleasure or profit. 



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