2 The South African Birds of Prey 



I believe and hope the matter has been shelved for ever. 

 1 would recommend a little more discrimination to our 

 worthy sportsmen ; it does not follow, because one 

 member of a Family is a destructive bird, that others of 

 the same group should be so also. 



Rapacious birds are slow breeders — rearing only one 

 brood a year in most cases — and large feeders, tlie young 

 requiring a considerable amount of food. 



We can conveniently divide our Birds of Prey into 

 two naturally divergent groups : — 



(1) Nocturnal Birds of Prey — Owls. 



(2) Diurnal Birds of Prey — Hawks, Falcons, Kestrels, 

 Buzzards, Kites, &c. 



The owls are, almost without exception, exceedingly 

 useful birds, so far as the agriculturist is concerned, sub- 

 sisting chiefly upon small rodents, such as mice, rats, &c. 

 They suffer constant persecution through the sheer ignor- 

 ance of the average farmer, a persecution which is 

 augmented by senseless superstitions, which are difficult 

 to eradicate. The South African Ornithologists' Union 

 has now taken the subject in hand, and hopes, in con- 

 junction with the Departments of Agriculture and Educa- 

 tion, to bring about a better understanding of our birds 

 by the populace. 



The economic value of birds has long been recognized 

 in America, which country may be assumed to be one of, 

 if not the, greatest agricultural countries of the world. 



During recent years the United States Department of 

 Agriculture has recognized this to such an extent that 

 elaborate laws protecting birds of economic value to agri- 

 cultural pursuits have been promulgated. Similar regula- 

 tions are necessary in South Africa. Let me say here 

 that very careful and thorough preliminary investigations 

 are wanted, for many of our birds are " local " in distribu- 

 tion, and their diet varies according to the locality or 

 season. To illustrate my meaning : A bird may be injuri- 

 ous in one district where its natural food is scarce, and 

 useful in another where its customary articles of diet are 

 plentiful ; again a species may be exceedingly useful in 



