NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



BIRDS AND PASTURAGE 



To the stock farmer, birds, with the exception of 

 eagles, are an unmixed blessing. They ask of him 

 no return for their services in keeping in check the 

 insects and rodents which would otherwise devour the 

 pasturage. When for any reason birds are reduced in 

 numbers below the normal requirements of Nature, 

 insects, rats, and mice multiply and become a plague. 

 Miles of country may thus be spoiled or reduced 

 considerably in value from a stock-feeding point of 

 view. 



In Natal, many years ago, a storm of icy cold wind 

 and rain continued for an entire day and night. Stock 

 and poultry died of cold and exposure in tens of 

 thousands. The mortality amongst wild birds was 

 enormous. Before the storm the forest groves, valleys, 

 and fields were alive with birds, and their cheery calls 

 echoed everywhere. After the storm the survivors 

 crept out from their retreats, cold and hungry, and for 

 two years birds were comparatively scarce. The 

 blizzard occurred during the winter. The following 

 season and the one after that were the worst the 

 farmers, gardeners, fruit and flower growers had ever 

 experienced. In the absence of birds, the insect 

 hordes increased and swarmed everywhere. I 

 happened to have several acres under cultivation, 

 but the grasshoppers swarmed in such numbers that 

 not a single plant reached maturity. Kitchen garden- 

 ing was equally hopeless, for the instant the plants 



7 6 



