92 Mr. J. Buckland on 



47. Prinia mystacea, Riipp. Tawny -flanked Wren 

 Warbler. 



A few haunt the rocky ridge along the northern extension. 



48. Crateropus jardinei, A. Sm. Jardino's Babbler. 

 There are quite a number of these birds in the grounds 



now, probably attracted there by those in captivity. They 

 must breed here too, as I saw one feeding a couple of young- 

 birds, apparently just flown, one day last summer. They are 

 very noisy birds. 



49. TuRDUS cabanisi (Bp.). Cabanis's Thrush. 

 Resident and breeding in the Gardens. 



50. CossYRHA caffra (L.). C'iipe Robin Chat. 

 Common and breeding. 



XIII. — The Value of Birds to Alan. By James Buckland. 



[A Paper read at a Meeting of the British Empire Naturalists' Asso- 

 ciation, held at the Hall of the Roynl Society of Arts, John Street, 

 Adelphi, December 1, at 8 p.m., Walter Crane, Esq., R.W.S., in the 



Chair.] 



The Use of the Birds in Nature. 



Man has become the dominant power on the earth. He 

 has delegated to himself the right to adopt a utilitarian 

 standard ])y which he measures the usefulness or dostruc- 

 tiveness of all other forms of life. All animals which 

 injure his j)erson or his property he classes as injurious. 

 All animals that contri])ute to the increase in value of his 

 property, or to his comfort, he considers beneficial. Beauty 

 he disregards, devastating the wild places of the earth in 

 mere wantonness of strength. But let that pass for the 

 present. To take him from his own standpoint, is he not 

 sometimes in error ? In his grasp for the useful, has he 

 not overlooked the beneficent power of the bird ? 



To answer this question wo must first determine wliat 

 particular functions it is in the economy of Nature that 

 birds alone are fitted to perform. 



