198 Letters, Extracts, Notes, ^c. 



Sirs, — As I shall not be able to be present at the next 

 meeting of the B.O.C., I should like, with your approval, to 

 draw the attention of the Members of the B.O.U. to an 

 atrocity which took place this spring iu the Azores, in con- 

 nexion with the very rare and almost extinct BuUHnch 

 {Pyrrhula murina). In the space of eight weeks by diligent 

 hunting fifty-three specimens of this interesting bird were 

 shot by a professional collector and sent to Prof. Koenig (of 

 Bonn), who employed him. 1 myself saw the particulars, 

 measurements, sex, &c., of each one of these birds while I 

 was at S. Miguel, and can vouch for the accuracy of the 

 figures, of which I made a note immediately. 



I consider this lamentable and greedy slaughter an excel- 

 lent example of the danger of a policy which advocates that 

 when a bird is likely to become extinct, the best course to 

 pursue is to shoot it down for preservation in museums. 

 This may be a good policy if it is absolutely certain that 

 the species is on the verge of extinction and cannot be 

 saved. Mr. Ogilvic-Grant, for example, Avent to the Azores 

 two or three years ago and had the greatest difficulty in 

 procuring two or three specimens of this biid, even with the 

 assistance of the peasants. It was, therefore, presumed to 

 be practically extinct, and that the sooner the remaining 

 examples were secured in the interests of science the better. 

 But that they are or were by no means hopelessly doomed 

 is proved by the fact that this collector of Dr. Koenig, who 

 was engaged to make a collection of all the birds on the 

 island, was able to procure 53 examples of this rare species. 

 When one remembers the skulking habits, love of solitude, 

 and the very inconspicuous colours of this bird, it is not too 

 much to hope that there may still be left far more exanjph s 

 than are supposed to exist and enough to perpetuate tlieir 

 race for many years. It is very unlikely that the woods 

 and fastnesses in the mountains at the east end of the island 

 of S. Miguel will ever be seriously interfered with, and if 

 steps were taken to stop this mere hungry greed for the 

 acquisition of a fine series of a rare bird not possessed by 

 rival collectors, I believe its existence could still be 



