Bird Notes & News 



ISSUED QUARTERLY BY THE ROYAL SOCIETY 

 :: :: FOR THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS :: :: 



Vol. V. ] 



DECEMBER, 1913. 



[No. 8. 



Some Victims of the Plume-Trade. 



The birds depicted by Mr. Lodge are 

 but a representative few of the countless 

 species killed solely for the plumage 

 market. 



The gorgeous Birds-of-Paradise are all 

 in imminent danger. Mr. Walter Good- 

 fellow has borne testimony to their 

 alarmingly rapid decrease, a decrease 

 which can excite little surprise when it is 

 known that for some years 12,000 skins, 

 chiefly of the Lesser Bird-of -Paradise, 

 were being exported every three months 

 from Humboldt's Bay alone. The rarest 

 species, such as Prince Rudolph's, Helen's 

 Six-wired, and P. novce-guinecB, are found 

 in the market. The Bird-of -Paradise is 

 peculiar to the Papuan region, and though 

 efforts have been made to introduce it 

 into the West Indies there is no evidence 

 that it has bred outside its natural 

 habitat. Protection, more or less, is 

 attempted by the Governments of British, 

 German, and Dutch New Guinea, but 

 this is ineffectual so long as a high 

 market price encourages smuggling. 

 Skins of raggiana are catalogued regularly 

 for the London sales, though the species 

 does not exist outside British Papua, 

 whence its export is forbidden. Over 

 4,000 skins were marketed last June, 

 another 4,000 in the preceding February. 



The Goura Pigeons, largest of the 

 pigeon tribe, are also inhabitants of 'New 

 Guinea, and are Ukewise being exter- 

 minated : 6,338 heads and crests were 

 catalogued in the June sale, 1913 ; 

 8,000 in December, 1912. Six sales are 

 held in the year. 



Little need be said of the White Heron. 

 It is a notorious fact that the " osprey " 

 is the nuptial-plume obtained hy killing 



Herons and Egrets at the breeding- 

 season ; that no egret " farm " does or 

 ever did exist ; and that any feathers 

 " picked up " are poor and brittle and 

 of little commercial value. One sale 

 last year testified to the slaughter of 

 some 70,000 Herons. 



The Smyrnian Kingfisher is an insect- 

 eating species, as are many of the King- 

 fisher family. Recently its haunts have 

 been raided to an almost incredible 

 extent, and no fewer than 162,750 

 skins were offered at the June sale 

 1913. 



The Scarlet Tanager represents the 

 tribe of South American and West 

 Indian birds destroyed for their feathers. 

 The scarlet plumage is its breeding-dress. 

 Though not in such heavy demand as 

 was the case a few years ago, they are 

 to be found in the Houndsditch rooms in 

 company with Trogons, Toucans, Quetzal, 

 Scarlet Ibis, Woodpeckers, Orioles, 

 Hoopoes, Bee-eaters, Woodpeckers, Fly- 

 catchers, Humming-birds, etc. (Humming 

 birds are said to be " not wanted," but 

 over 20,000 were offered for sale in 

 February, 1911). With them are Lyre- 

 bird tails and skins of the Regent Bower- 

 bird, smuggled from AustraHa ; great 

 numbers of the Himalayan, Numidian, 

 Lady Amherst, and Scintillated Phea- 

 sants ; Marabou tails ; Rhea and Casso- 

 wary plumes ; enormous quantities of 

 Teal wings, and innumerable wing-quills 

 of Condor, Albatros, Flamingo, White 

 Crane, Bustard, PeHcan, Falcon, etc. ; 

 of the White Tern or Sea-Swallow {Gygis) 

 of the Pacific over 6,000 and of the 

 Sooty Tern 18,000 pairs of wings have 

 been offered at single sales. 



