BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



95 



And again, as to the Kestrel : gamekeepers are 

 the inveterate enemies of all the "hawks," yet 



"The Kestrel is certainly beneficial in its habits, 

 for it feeds almost entirely on mice, voles, young 

 rats, small birds, beetles and grasshoppers. It is 

 generally acknowledged to be helpful to man, save 

 by gamekeepers, yet it rarely touches either game 

 or poultry." 



The Peregrine, the Harrier, and even the Spar- 

 rowhawk, if injurious to game and poultry, feed 

 mainly on rats, mice and voles. 



Among Britain's 250 species of birds, not more 

 than sixty are, Mr. Theobald remarks, of any real 

 economic importance one way or another. Of the 

 remainder " a large number are rare or uncommon, 

 and are wisely protected by law, or should be." 

 (Much virtue in " should be.") " Out of the sixty 

 a number are almost exclusively beneficial." 



" There is no dispute about Owls," says 

 Mr. Theobald. Their utility is pretty well 

 recognized now, and if any doubt remains it should 

 be finally quenched by the consensus of evidence 

 quoted in an able article in the Shooting Times of 

 November 23rd, 1907. Neither can the Peewit's 

 claims to protection, from man's own purely selfish 

 point of view, be denied. 



" There is no bird more beneficial to the cultiva- 

 tor than the Lapwing. Its food consists entirely 

 of wireworms, leather-jackets, surface larva;, snails, 

 slugs and many other injurious animals. The 

 good done by the Lapwing cannot be overestimated ; 

 no one has said or can say a bad word against it. 

 In spite of this, people are allowed to collect the 

 eggs wholesale, as the demand for this luxury 

 becomes greater ; in consequence, in many parts 

 of the country there is a serious decrease in the 

 number of birds. With this decrease goes a con- 

 comitant increase of wireworm and other grubs. 



" Surely where, as in this case, we have a 

 unanimous opinion, the somewhat useless and 

 seldom-enforced Wild Birds Protection Acts might 

 be employed, so as not only to make it illegal to 

 take the eggs but to offer them for sale in the 

 shops." 



[Unfortunately the Acts cannot be employed for 

 this purpose, because they do not give power to 

 prevent the sale of any eggs ; but they do empower 

 County Councils to prohibit the taking of birds and 

 eggs, and this power should be used.] 



The Flycatcher is another bird with a perfectly 

 blameless record. " All accusations against them 

 fail when carefully examined. Their encourage- 

 ment and protection should thus be rigidly en- 

 forced." It would be interesting to know what 

 proportion of country people and members of 

 " sparrow clubs " know the Flycatcher when they 



see it ! The Cuckoo, the Wryneck, the Wagtails 

 and Pipits and Chats, the Swallows and Swift, 

 certain of the Warblers and Waders, the Wood- 

 peckers (" too few by far "), the Gulls except the 

 Black-backed — -are all indisputably valuable to man. 

 So, too, the Tits {pace Mr. Tegetmeier) : — 



"The consensus of opinion of practical men 

 and ornithologists is so strongly in favour of the 

 Paridae that we may safely say they should receive 

 all the protection we can give them." 



On the opposite side of the picture are a few 

 birds which Mr. Theobald condemns from the 

 economic standpoint, wholly or in part. The black 

 list is headed as usual by the House-Sparrow, Bull- 

 finch, and Woodpigeon ; the Blackbird has no 

 friends in fruit districts, partly owing, it is stated, 

 to its great increase in numbers, while the Thrush 

 is recommended to mercy on the score of its nine 

 months of good work among the snails and 

 grubs and the fact that it does not appear to be 

 increasing. 



" The general opinion maybe summed up that 

 the Starling is most beneficial to the tanner and 

 stockbreeder, and should be encouraged, but that 

 in fruit districts its numbers should be kept down." 



The Jackdaw " is a great wireworm and insect 

 destroyer, and if it does a little injury to cherries 

 and other fruit in dry seasons, and takes a few 

 eggs and now and then fowls' food, it nevertheless 

 must be looked upon as beneficial as far as evidence 

 goes at present." 



The Jackdaw's bigger companion, the Rook 

 presents a greater problem. "That the Rooks do 

 an enormous amount of good there is no doubt." 

 For the greater part of the year they feed almost 

 exclusively on wireworms and other grubs in the 

 soil, various caterpillars, such as the winter moth 

 and lackey moth, and the destructive green-tortrix, 

 which too frequently defoliates our oak-trees. " At 

 the same time everyone acknowledges that they 

 do some harm" among seed corn and young roots. 

 Mr. Theobald believes in scaring rather than 

 shooting, on the ground that five thousand are as 

 easily scared as fifty, whereas they will do one 

 hundred times more good. 



Of the smaller birds, the Chaffinch and Green- 

 finch and Buntings have contra-accounts, with a 

 balance now on one side and now on the other ; 

 the Linnet is to be encouraged, except in occasional 

 circumstances where in great numbers about seed 

 crops. The Skylark, " although it takes a certain 

 amount of corn, has the balance in its favour, for 

 it is most useful as an insect-checker." The 

 Blackcap is altogether condemned in the fruit- 

 garden, while of the Whitethroat and Garden 



