3l8 Economic Section. \ 



Emu 



deserves careful and intelligent watching and treatment as one 

 of the invaluable assets of the country, for it will be exceed- 

 ingly difficult to replace what is now in many cases being 

 allowed to be destroyed.— A. S. Le SouiiF, R.A.O.U., State Sec- 

 retary for N.S.W. Taronga Park, Sydney. 



A Plea for Crows and Eagles. 



By F. C. Morse, R.A.O.U., " Coocalla," Garah, Northern N.S.W. 



In entering on this contentious subject, I wish it to be under- 

 stood that I am not generalizing without sufficient data. Cer- 

 tain things have come under my notice that have led me to make 

 certain conclusions ; this need not necessarily apply to other 

 parts of Australia. 



The Wedge-tailed Eagle and the Crow (Raven) are condemned 

 by the sheep-breeder, and war, in the shape of poison and guns, 

 has been waged against them for many years. I have l)een 

 among the agents of destruction, and claim to have killed as 

 many of each as anyone else, and also claim to have hated 

 the Crow with that somewhat venomous hatred that I hear ex- 

 pressed on all sides for the black devil. In making these re- 

 marks, I wish to show you that I am not simply a bird-lover, 

 who can see nothing but good in everything that flies. 



Before the advent of the rabbit the Eagle lived largely on 

 marsupials, varying his diet occasionally with lamb (though 

 there is no direct evidence of anyone having seen an eagle 

 take a live lamb) ; however, circumstantial evidence is against 

 him. But my contention is that where there are rabbits Eagles 

 will do little or no harm to the lambs. When the rabbits 

 spread over the Castlereagh country, I was doing colonial ex- 

 perience on a station in that district, and was in charge of a 

 flock of 12,000 breeding ewes ; rabbits were numerous, and so 

 were lambs, but the preference seemed to bo almost entirely 

 for rabbits. Under one eyrie I counted the remains of fifty 

 rabbits, hut not a single lamb. 



During 1915 I watched an Eagle's nest very carefully, and 

 two young birds were reared ; but during the whole period till 

 the young flew away I could only find the remains of five 

 lambs thrown from the nest — possibly these were dead when 

 taken. This also was in a lambing paddock. Rabbits are very 

 scarce, in spite of which the bird carried several to the nest, 

 besides kangaroo-rats and birds. 



Since the blow-fly has become such a pest to the pastoral in- 

 dustry, sheep-owners are at their wits' end to find some means 

 of combating the pest. Entomologists have proved that the 

 larvae of the blow-fly can only live on animal food ; destroy 

 that and there is nothing much left for the fly. 



As a scavenger the Crow is second to none. Xo dead meat 

 is too advanced in putrefaction for him ; and whether fresh 



