60 



BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



" leather- jacket " grub, and of the Starling 

 in feeding its young with many injurious 

 insects. Two of the Starlings examined 

 had been shot " in the act of damaging a 

 young wheat plant." No trace of plant was 

 found in the birds, which were probably 

 hunting for maggots or fly larvse at the root. 

 Two Blue Tits were shot " red-handed at the 

 peas." No trace of vegetable food was in 

 the birds, but they had been regaling 

 abundantly on American blight. Eight 

 Bullfinches were shot " while in the act of 

 destroying fruit-buds." Dissection proved 

 them to have eaten only seeds of the 

 sycamore ; they may have been destroying 



the fruit-buds wantonly, but the two previous 

 instances at any rate suggest that mistakes 

 are sometimes made. Of the twenty-three 

 post-mortems on Bullfinches, only one yielded 

 remains of fruit-buds ; eleven gave seeds of 

 the dock. The Bullfinch is, however, 

 classed as a bird of very doubtful utility. 

 The Linnet is among those with a balance 

 very largely in their favour ; it is an in- 

 veterate feeder on charlock ; yet it is this 

 useful and charming little bird which the 

 average farmer allows the hulking bird- 

 catcher to sweep off his land by the hundred. 

 No doubt he subsequently feels aggrieved that 

 providence sends him such troublesome weeds. 



usr uor ucr Notes, ucr u$r usr 



BUSTARDS IN ENGLAND. 



At a meeting of the Norfolk and Norwich 

 Naturalists' Society in January, Mr. E. J. 

 Eldred gave an interesting account of his 

 attempt to domesticate three Great Bustards, 

 brought from Spain. In spite of Mr. Eldred's 

 enthusiasm and care, his report was not 

 altogether hopeful, the restlessness of the 

 birds, and lack of fixed roosting-place 

 indicating that they must be either pinioned 

 or kept entirely in an aviary. From the 

 R.S.P.B. point of view the important question 

 is the bearing of the experiment on the 

 possible re-introduction of the wild bird 

 in a free state. Mr. Eldred's verdict was 

 that it would be useless to turn out even 

 young birds without first enclosing them for 

 a considerable time on the ground where they 

 are to be released ; and unfortunately this 

 is but the introduction to the real problem. 

 In the winter of 1870-1, when about a dozen 

 appeared in this country, they " were as a 

 matter of course shot " ; and the result of 

 subsequent efforts to establish them in 

 Norfolk is well known. All that remains of 

 the experiment is the mention of the Bustard 

 in the County Bird Protection Order, 



YORKSHIRE RECORDS. 



The report for 1908 of the Wild Birds 

 Committee of the Yorkshire Naturalists' 

 Union furnishes some useful notes on the 

 migrants and other birds, the principal 

 record being the occurrence of the Sand- 

 grouse in the Wold district. The Great 

 Crested Grebes on Hornsea Mere are stated 

 to have dwindled down to three birds. 

 " Undoubtedly this bird is being harried to 

 death by egg-collectors, and as certainly the 

 visits of parties of naturalists to the Mere, 

 however good for the naturalists, have a 

 contrary effect upon the birds, the publicity 

 given to these expeditions, verbally and in 

 the Press, attracting other parties, whose 

 attentions are not confined to observations 

 only." An extra watcher will have to be 

 put on in consequence. It is here, as else- 

 where : if an area is to be protected for the 

 sake of preserving the birds, visitors must be 

 sternly discouraged. Those most in earnest 

 as bird protectors will be first to acknow- 

 ledge the childish folly of turning a breeding 

 area into a show. It is regrettable to learn 

 that the Goldfinch shows no signs of increase in 

 Yorkshire, remaining one of the scarcest birds. 



