12 



Bird Notes and News 



dreaded Sitones weevils. And when I visited 

 the pea-rows with a lantern at night I found 

 these destructive little creatures at work on 

 almost every plant, nibbling away at the leaves 

 just as they were beginning to sprout. It was 

 they that were doing the mischief, not the 

 Sparrows. So I left the birds to their own 

 devices. The result was that they cleared off 

 the weevils, and I had an excellent show of 

 peas, while most of my neighbours, who waged 

 war against the Sparrows, had next to none. 



" Sparrows are very fond, too, of ' chovies,' 

 or ' cockerbundies '—those small chafers which 

 abound so greatly in certain seasons and whose 

 grubs do so vast an amount of mischief. And 

 I have the record of a case in which they did 

 good service in clearing away bUght. 



"With regard to the food of the young, there is 

 no question at all. It consists entirely of insects. 

 Experiment has shown that on an average 

 forty grubs are brought to a sparrow's nest 

 during each hour of the working day. For 

 four weeks the little ones are diligently fed by 

 their parents. And there are two broods — 

 often three broods — in every year. These facts 

 speak for themselves. I hold no brief for the 

 sparrow. I do not deny his amazing capacity 

 for mischief. And, on the whole, I am afraid 

 that he does much more harm than good. But 

 there is something to be said in his favour ; and 

 it should not be forgotten that, while his bad 

 deeds are visible to everybody, his good ones, 

 for the most part, remain unseen." 



Notes 



All members of the E.S.P.B. will send out 

 their congratulations to their brethren of the 

 Audubon Association of the U.S.A., which has 

 just received a cash donation of $200,000.00 

 from one donor, who remains anonymous. It 

 is to be added to the Association's permanent 

 endowment fund for the activities along specified 

 lines, which are as follows : — 



1. For the education of the general public in the 

 knowledge and value of useful, beautiful and inter- 

 esting forms of wild life, especially birds. 



2. For the actual protection and perpetuation of 

 such forms of wild life or suitable breeding and other 

 reservations. 



3. For protecting and maintaining adequate pro- 

 tection for such forms of wild life in all parts of the 

 Western Hemisphere. 



4. Or for any one of these purposes. 



All these objects are objects also of the 

 Koyal Society for the Protection of Birds, 

 with the necessary geographical modification. 

 When will the British millionaire come forward 

 (and there are still a few left whose death 

 duties will considerably swell the revenue), 

 and offer any comparable sum for the per- 

 manent maintenance of Bird Protection in 

 Great Britain ? 



The recently appointed Committee charged 

 with the consideration of bird sanctuaries in 

 the London parks, have already mapped out 



two such areas. One is opposite the Powder 

 Magazine in Hyde Park, an enclosure contain- 

 ing greenhouses and sheds ; the other runs 

 along the eastern side of the Long Water in 

 Kensington Gardens. There is no public 

 access to either, so that the populace will lose 

 nothing of their space, and as hardly any 

 expenditure will be involved where the main 

 thing is to let Nature alone, taxpayers need 

 have no fears. Some suitable trees and bushes 

 will be planted, and no doubt some nesting- 

 boxes will in due time be provided. Sir Lionel 

 Earle, Chairman of the Committee, has asked 

 for contributions of trees and bushes required. 

 These are specified as follows : — 



Blackthorn (prunus spinosa), dog rose (Rosa canina), 

 Cotoneaster in variety, dog-wood (Comus sanguinea), 

 wild red cherry (Prunus pennsylvanica), common 

 hazel (Corylus avellana), hawthorn (Crataegus oxya- 

 cantha and Crataegus pyracantha), wild currant (Ribes 

 sanguinea, Rosa rugosa), snowberry (Symphoricarpus 

 racemosus), wild cherry (Prunus cerasus), low black- 

 berry (Rubus canadensis), high blackberry (Rubus 

 villosus), sweet briar (Rosa rubiginosa), wild raspberry 

 (Rubus idaeus), briers (Penzance in variety), goose- 

 berry (Ribes grossularia), gorse (Ulex europaeus), yew, 

 osiers, willow. 



The list might easily be extended, but many 

 persons may be glad to preserve it as a sug- 

 gestion for their own grounds. The other 

 members of the Committee are Lord Buxton, 

 Mr. Pretyman, M.P., Mr. Harold Russell, and 

 Mr. J. Rudge Harding, the last-named repre- 

 senting the R.S.P.B. 



