Bird Notes and News 



107 



Notes 



The story of the Peregrine Falcon, 

 taken from the Great Orme's Head and 

 hawked about in a basket in Llandudno 

 Market, has gained exceptional attention 

 on account of the attempt made by 

 pigeon-fanciers to introduce into it the 

 destruction wrought, or said to be wrought, 

 by these falcons among homing-pigeons 

 and a widespread statement of the 

 number of pigeon legs found in the 

 Peregrine's nest. Unquestionably the 

 Peregrine, a bird of prey, does catch 

 some homing-pigeons ; possibly a good 

 many, since the birds are weakened by 

 long flights and in a condition to be 

 readily caught. Nevertheless, the charge 

 against it is a feeble one. The breeding 

 and training of carrier-pigeons is a 

 commercial matter, and carried on for 

 commercial purposes that are of no more 

 benefit to the nation than the training 

 of falcons for falconry. A good deal is 

 made of their services in the war, when 

 no doubt great numbers were used to 

 carry messages and great numbers also 

 died in doing so. It is to be hoped 

 that in any future war the development 

 of wireless will do away with the need 

 for using the birds. While they are 

 used, either for war-time extremity or 

 for peaceful racing, they have to face 

 the dangers to which birds are liable — 

 wind and fog and storm, and telegraph 

 wires and the man with a gun, and often 

 fall exhausted (as reported again and 

 again to the Society) before reaching 

 their goal. The one danger, it appears, 

 which they are not to be allowed to 

 meet, is that from another bird. It 

 hardly seems reasonable that such a 

 complaint should be raised by the men 

 who send them forth. 



* 4: 4: 



The homing-pigeon, again, is more 

 or less an artificial product, specialised by 

 training, and may be bred to any extent. 

 " The Peregrine, the most perfect of 

 the falcons (as Mr. W. H. Hudson 

 wrote) — perhaps, as some naturalists 

 think, the most perfect of the entire 



feathered race — maintains a precarious 

 existence on the boldest sea-cliffs." It 

 is now exceedingly scarce, and once lost 

 to our islands will be lost for ever. 



Dr. W. T. Hornaday, ever alert in 



the conservation of wild life, sends news 



of the probable extinction of the Heath 



Hen of the United States. The bird 



is a species of grouse, easily hunted and 



killed in its open country haunts, and of 



this full advantage was taken by hunters. 



So far back as two centuries ago efforts 



began to protect it in New York State. 



Other States followed more recently, but 



the flocks were already decimated and 



weakened. In 1916 there were some 



2,000 ; then a forest fire took heavy 



toll of the sitting hens. In 1922 there 



were only 117. Dr. Hornaday uses the 



opportunity to sound an alarm on behalf 



of the Prairie Chicken and the Quail. 



" Unless immediate steps are taken by 



state legislature to reduce radically the 



present open seasons and bag limits and 



to make bird preserves, the Quail is 



absolutely certain to disappear in our 



own times." 



* * * 



A pleasant story comes from Newcastle. 

 During repairs to the Cathedral new 

 ventilators were necessary and though 

 great care was taken that no birds 

 should be imprisoned when the new 

 covers were cemented on, a brood of 

 sparrows got fastened in. The anxiety 

 of the parent birds made known that the 

 little family was imperilled. The rest of 

 the story may be told in the words of 

 the Newcastle Chronicle (July 24th) : — 



The mother sparrow was seen to be making 

 frantic efEorts to feed the young ones through 

 an iron grating and a day or so elapsed before 

 a man could be found to cut out the iron 

 covers and so release the birds. In the mean- 

 time the parents remained close to the ventilator 

 which is near the roof, and at night could be 

 seen sitting quite close to it. Each morning 

 they were early astir to find provender for the 

 captive brood, and made most determined 



