18 



Bird Notes and News 



way of their bobby, in order that they may 

 boast rarities in their cabinets and deal the 

 last blow at dying speoies. The collector, 

 observes the Times in the article already 

 referred to, " is alert, well-informed, and 

 insatiable. If a bird be rare or hitherto un- 

 known in a locality, if a species be nearly 

 extinct, he recognises a valuable prey and 

 hastens to secure it." No sense of honour 

 prevents him from evading legislation and 

 checkmating and undoing the honourable 

 efforts of wardens, keepers, and watchers. 

 No self-respect for the traditions of an officer, 

 the profession of the clergy, the honesty of the 

 protector-in-print, deters him. (The Society 

 has had concrete examples of each case.) He 

 bribes wherever a bribe will be taken, and where 

 palms refuse to be greased employs every 

 device to " obtain " the booty he wants. 

 A "protected area " suggests to him a place 

 worth trying ; so that it is even a risk to make 



efforts at protection public. A man on guard 

 suggests a winking display of " Fishers." A 

 clutch that would hatch out some of the rarest 

 birds in the land suggests immediate acqui- 

 sition, even if it entails the filling of pockets 

 before the Watcher can come up or when his 

 back is turned. 



Such persons deem themselves oologists and 

 scientists and have no shame in their exploits. 

 The scientific ornithologist regards them as a 

 discredit to the name of naturalist. The plain 

 man endorses Sir Herbert Maxwell's hatred of 

 the " cursed collector " and adds the natural 

 Englishman's dislike of the sneak. It is time 

 that plain truths were spoken of the danger in 

 which bird-life stands from a seljish, pretentious, 

 and useless craze ; and it may be hoped that 

 members of British Natural History and 

 Ornithological Societies will give a plain answer 

 to the bland proffer of love and money from 

 the Californian brotherhood. 



Mr. W. P. Pycraft (Natural History Museum) 

 writes in the Illustrated London News (Sept. 4th, 

 1920) :— 



" The urgent need for sane protective 

 measures not merely for our native birds, but 

 for birds in the wilderness also, is growing 

 daily more apparent. And on this account one 

 views with apprehension the foundation, at 

 Santa Barbara, California, of a ' World Museum 

 of Birds' Eggs.' Herein the founders of the 

 institution propose to enshrine a complete 

 collection of the eggs of the birds of the world, 

 together with ' as many nests and skins as are 

 necessary to enable the eggs to tell their full 

 story. . . .' 



" To obtain this object a world-wide canvass 

 is being made. Nomination forms, duly filled 

 up, are being sent out to all ' eligible ' persons ; 

 and all the recipient has to do is to fill in his 

 name and send it back to California. From 

 that moment he may consider himself a full 

 Member of the Museum of Comparative Oology. 



" It is taken for granted that every member 

 will ' collect ' assiduously, not merely to fill 

 his own cabinets, but also to enable himself 

 to build up a collection of duplicates available 

 for exchange. He will certainly be kept busy, 

 for every member is to be registered, so that 

 he may conveniently be importuned for speci- 

 mens by collectors scattered over the whole 

 habitable globe. From a copy of the Museum's 

 journal, which has been sent me, I note that 



a newly-elected member, resident in Scotland, 

 has this year sent to the Museum a ' series of 

 six sets of the Red-shank, six sets of the British 

 Ringed Plover, and six sets of the Oyster-catcher. 

 He probably retained a like series for his own 

 collection. For very shame I will not mention 

 the name of that small Scotch village, but it 

 axigurs ill for the birds which elect to breed 

 there in future. It is obvious that if the 

 members of this band fulfil what is expected of 

 them, their ravages, so far as the British Islands 

 are concerned, will be very serious. For each 

 is asked, after filling his own cabinets, to do 

 his best to fill those of every other collector 

 from here to New Zealand. This result is 

 evidently anticipated by the founders of the 

 Museum, for the enthusiastic editor of the 

 journal remarks that the collecting of birds' 

 eggs, ' whether followed as a fad, a pursuit, 

 or a passion, is likely to become at last a major 

 avocation. . . .' 



" Among my own friends are collectors of 

 repute, and none deplore more than they the 

 insatiable greed and unscrupulous cimning 

 which are displayed by many collectors in this 

 country. To check their activities as far as 

 possible, the Society for the Protection of Birds 

 has to spend large sums annually in the employ- 

 ment of ' watchers ' to circumvent their raids. 

 This is deplorable enoiigh, but the evil will most 

 certainly be aggravated by the incitements 

 of the Museum of Comparative Oology." 



