| Change of Habit due to War 
pre-war days comparatively rare or but 
locally prescribed, have appeared in unusual 
haunts. Mr. W. Beach Thomas asks: ‘‘Is 
it an accident, or a result of the keeper’s 
absence, that BITTERNS have bred on the 
east coast during the period of the war ?’”’ 
(Daily. Mail, 22.11.19). It is to be hoped 
that the powers conferred on County Coun- 
cils by our Wild Birds Protection Acts will 
be utilised to continue any benefits which 
our rarer birds may have enjoyed owing to 
the absence of their persecutors during the 
War. The effects of increased cultivation 
should, as regards this country, be beneficial 
not only to graminivorous but also to in- 
sectivorous birds; but there is no reason to 
suppose that any changes of this kind will 
immediately influence the habits of birds. 
In any case, it is imperative that the protec- 
tion of birds, as at present enforced by our 
Game Laws and Wild Birds Protection Acts, 
should not be withdrawn, but rather increased, 
seeing that our best crop protectors are the 
insectivorous birds. 
M 161 
