INTRODUCTION. 



of our fish resources. In ancient Egypt the ihis was valued so much 

 that it was regarded as sacred, and called the sacred this Why ? 

 Egypt was at times subject to plagues of locusts, and of all birds 

 the ibis helped most to rid the land of the plague by devouring the 

 locusts in thousands. Mr. D. Le Souef, Director of the Melbourne 

 Zoological Gardens, has calculated from results of observation that 

 in a day one ibis is responsible for the destruction of no fewer than 

 2,410* grasshoppers, or so-called locusts. Yet each season this lovely 

 and useful bird, together with numbers of cranes (herons), spoon- 

 bills, and egrets fall victims to the sportsmen who, in ignorance 

 of their value, shoot them along with ordinary game. It is the deci- 

 mation of such birds which leads to the ever-increasing multitudes 

 of crustaceans (crabs and yabbies) that destroy fish spawn and young 

 fish hatching out in the Coorong and lakes at the Murray Mouth. 



It is sincerely hoped that every person interested in the welfare 

 of our native birds will co-operate in order to stay the destruction of 

 them. In some parts of the State landowners have set aside reserves 

 of timber in which native birds can live unmolested. Whether these 

 gentlemen were prompted to do this purely out of love for the birds, 

 or because they recognised their value to the country, they have 

 rendered themselves benefactors to South Australia. Let us hope 

 that throughout the State many more such reserves will be pro- 

 claimed, in which our birds may seek sanctuary from their would-be 

 destroyers. 



If this little book becomes instrumental in making our lovely birds 

 better and more widely known and in securing for them the protec- 

 tion of an increasing number of bird observers, those who have given 

 the time and labor necessary to its compilation will feel amply 

 repaid, and the book will have justified its production. 



A. G. EDQUIST. 

 High School, Adelaide. 



" Wild Life in Australia," by Mr. D. Le Souef, C.M.Z.S. 



