Bird Notes and News 



73 



H. Theakston (Liverpool), Miss Thornhill 

 (Hamble), Miss Thniston (London, S.W.), 

 R. V. Turnham (Haslemere), Mrs. Vaudrey 

 (Derby). Arthur T. Wallis (Birmingham), Mrs. 

 E. Williams (London, N.), John Williams 

 (Scorrier, Cornwall), Robert Williams (Gor- 

 ran), Mrs. Wood (Rochester), Noel Wood 

 (Wey bridge). 



The Hon. Thomas Mackenzie, High 

 Commissioner for New Zealand, was 

 elected an Honorary Fellow, in acknow- 

 ledgment of the interest he has taken 

 in the protection of birds in that Colony. 

 Mr. Jesse Hawkings, of Brean Down, was 

 elected an Honorary Member. The ap- 

 pointments of Mr. Robert WiUiams, 

 Caerhays Castle, Gorran, as Hon. Secretary 

 for Cornwall, and of Miss Ruth Bevan as 

 Hon. Secretary for Bude, were approved. 

 The accomits for the year, subject to 

 audit, were presented and passed, and the 

 report on the PubHc School Essay Com- 

 petition was received. 



General Business. 



RepHes were read from Professor 

 Thijsse and Mr. van Vollenhoven (Hol- 

 land), and Dr. Heuss (Germany) with 

 reference to means adopted in Holland 

 for preventing birds on migration from 

 perishing at Ughthouses. After con- 

 sideration it was resolved to ask the 

 Elder Brethren of Trinity House to 

 receive a deputation from the Society. 

 Other subjects discussed included the 

 care of birds on board ship ; a proposed 

 exhibition of featherless millinery ; com- 

 petitions for 1913 ; birdcatching ; and 

 the Annual Report and arrangements for 

 the Annual Meeting. 



A meeting of the Watchers' Committee 

 was held on February 14th, when the 

 work for the coming season was con- 

 sidered, the employment of some twenty- 

 four Watchers at special stations was 

 agreed to, and a large amount of cor- 



respondence was read, pointing out the 

 need of Watching in other locahties. 

 Next Meeting of Council, April 18th. 



THE COLLECTOR 



The Rev. Canon Rawnsley writes in 

 regretting his inabihty to attend the 

 Society's Annual Meeting : — 



" If I had been able to come I should 

 have urged that more stringent measures 

 were necessary than now exist for dealing 

 with the professional egg -stealer. Here in 

 the Lake district, notwithstanding all our 

 efforts by means of a friendly police and 

 paid watchers, we cannot prevent two or 

 three quite well-known egg-stealers coming 

 into the country and going oflE with their 

 ill-gotten gains. These gentlemen know 

 quite well that there is some working-man 

 in the locality who has made it his hobby 

 to know where the Ravens, Buzzards, and 

 Peregrines nest. They tempt him by a 

 day's outing in their motor car and by large 

 pay, to come \vith them and rob the nests. 

 They are off and away before dawn and 

 probably out of the county by motor the 

 same night. 



" It is a great scandal for they are robbing 

 the whole country-side of one of its peculiar 

 charms of bird life. The raven builds 

 again, and again its second nest is robbed. 

 It generally has a third nesting-place, and 

 again for the third time lays its eggs. But 

 these are hatched out so late that they really 

 have no chance of growing into strong birds, 

 and the result is that in time the raven, one 

 of the strongest and longest-lived birds we 

 have, will die out by reason of an enforced 

 degeneracy for which the cowardly and 

 selfish egg-stealer is to blame." 



" The best informed shepherds assert that 

 it is not the raven that worries the lambs but 

 the carrion crow, and the buzzard is, as aU 

 game preservers might know, a real help in 

 the way of ridding the moor of vermin and 

 diseased grouse." 



Canon Rawnsley adds that a debt of 

 gratitude for friendly interest in the bird- 

 Ufe of the district, is due to Lord Lonsdale, 

 Lord Muncaster, Canon Hazell, and Mr. 

 Henry Howard ; and also to the Rev. 



