Ixiii. 



have, for a still more transitory amusement, brought to the 

 verge of extinction many interesting animals, and to preserve 

 these for the world there would seem to be no resource except 

 strict game laws in the countries inhabited by the animals, 

 which have been in some cases instituted. In both cases 

 they are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, for whether 

 by laws or extermination the future enjoyment of these 

 things will be limited. To turn to the brighter side, I have 

 to record a bird new to our fauna (Phylloscopus fuscalus], the 

 Dusky Warbler, which fortunately does not sound very 

 attractive for hats a specimen of which was captured in 

 the Orkneys. Its usual habitat is the Eastern parts of Asia. 

 The placing of numbered rings on birds' legs has produced 

 two remarkable results, a swallow ringed in Ayrshire in July, 

 1912, having been captured in Orange River Colony on 

 March 16th, 1913, and another ringed in Staffordshire having 

 been taken in Natal in December. What can be the object 

 of this immense journey ! Records of this sort are accumulat- 

 ing and add greatly to our knowledge of migration, which 

 was very speculative. To pass on to the mammalia it was 

 stated many years ago by a high authority that the black 

 buck living on a certain spit of sand in Orissa never drank 

 water. A nearly similar case has now been pointed out in 

 regard to a herd of gazelles living on a small island in 

 Somaliland, where the annual rainfall is less than 3in. and 

 pools of water are only to be found for a few days, even after 

 a heavy shower. Doubtless this is made up for by succulent 

 plants. The United States Government has provided a 

 further tract of 15,000 acres for the encouragement of 

 bison, which are increasing, and now number about 3000, a 

 mere nothing compared to the former countless herds, but 

 far better than the complete extinction which would have 

 ensued had they not been preserved. More than 50 bird 

 reservations have been established of late years in the United 

 States, including the well-known pelican rookery in Florida. 

 A recent interesting method of observing wild animals is by 

 putting down attractive baits in the neighbourhood of self- 



