18 



Bird Notes and News 



SONG-BIRDS AS FOOD. 



Towards the end of March the attention 



of the Society was called to the display in a 



laige West-end provision store of Song- and 



Missel-Thrushes, Blackbirds, Redwings and 



Larks ; and on March 31st a letter from the 



Countess of Mayo appeared in the Times, 



invoking the aid of the Press and public " to 



nip in the bud a hideous innovation which 



has come to my personal notice " in the offer 



of these birds in numbers for sale. 



" The wholesale murder of our native song- 

 birds is something quite new to London, and 

 unless summary measures are taken to stamp 

 it out at once. Great Britain will soon be 

 bereft not only of a charm which no Con- 

 tinental nation can boast, but deprived of 

 our most valuable allies in the unceasing war 

 against mankind's greatest enemies — ^the 

 insects. There is not even the sordid excuse 

 of ' food in war-time,' because the class of 

 customer who deal at the stores in question 

 can by no stretch of fancy be termed poor. 

 Full particulars have been supplied to the 

 Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 

 as it seems probable that the additional 

 offence has been perpetrated of killing these 

 song-birds since the beginning of the close 

 season ; but I feel convinced that the innate 

 common sense and kindliness of the nation 

 will be the best remedy." 



In a further letter on the subject on April 



Ist, Mr. Montagu Sharpe was able to state, 



with regard to the particular case reported 



by Lady Mayo, that the firm had given an 



assurance that there should be no repetition 



of the offence of offering wild birds for sale 



during the close-time. 



"The larger question of the killing and 

 eating of song-birds is one for the public 

 rather than the trade to deal with ; for it 

 has to be remembered that for a great part 

 of the year our wild birds are at the mercy 

 of catcher and dealer. The practice seems 

 to be on the increase. Forty years ago the 

 eating of Sky -larks was a novelty at fashion- 

 able functions. The late Lord Wolseley was 

 one of the first to protest in public against ' a 



barbarous piece of luxury ' which he hoped 

 would never take root in this country. These 

 birds are caught by the thousand for dispatch 

 to Leadenhall Market in the open season, 

 and appear in strings in the poulterers' shops. 

 The introduction of Song- and Mistle-thrushes, 

 Redwings and Blackbirds into West-end stores 

 is new. For many years it has been the 

 custom for English people to hold up their 

 hands in holy horror at the slaughter of small 

 birds which has produced the songless fields 

 and blighted crops of Italy and Southern 

 France. In Italy they are eaten by the 

 poorest folk. In England the offenders are 

 of the well-fed classes, who desire some novel 

 tit-bit or gastronomic flavom: to titillate into 

 existence an imaginary appetite. Lady Mayo 

 does well to call for protest against the 

 " hideous innovation," from all Englishmen 

 and Englishwomen who still have any soul 

 for music or any love for natiu"e, who have 

 ears with which to hear the bird-song that 

 makes England pre-eminent among the 

 nations, or who would wish to claim, without 

 a blush, that they are of the same race with 

 Shakespeare and Shelley and Keats, with 

 Wordsworth and Matthew Arnold." 



In the House of Commons, on April 19th, 

 Mr. Dickinson asked the Home Secretary 

 whether his attention had been called to the 

 fact that British song-birds were being killed 

 and sold for food in West-end shops, and 

 whether he would take measures to enforce 

 the observance of the law and prevent this 

 destruction of bird-life ? 



The Home Secretary, in reply, stated that 

 inquiries had been made by the Metropolitan 

 Police and they found no reason to think 

 that, except in rare cases, song-birds were 

 being used for food in contravention of the 

 law. The Royal Society for the Protection 

 of Birds were watchful to prevent such 

 contraventions, but had not foiind evidence 

 of more than one or two recent cases. Suit- 

 able action had been taken with regard to 

 them. " I sincerely trust," added Mr. 

 Samuel, "that the barbarous practice ^of 

 killing song-birds for food will not take root 

 in this country. The police have been, and 

 are, very ready to take action whenever 

 there is reason to think that illegalities have 

 been committed." 



