

PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. Ivii. 



at a list of useful and injurious birds, drawn up after very 

 extensive examination of the contents of their stomachs ; 

 and as it classes the missel thrush and starling as injurious 

 on account of their abundance, whilst the song thrush is 

 beneficial, I suppose that it is the case, as the writer suggests, 

 that when a species of bird becomes too plentiful it changes 

 its food habits. At the same time, starlings have been with 

 us for years in immense numbers, and I do not think that 

 they could be in any way ca]]ed injurious, but the opposite, 

 though they have occasionally eaten a little fruit. The 

 amount of good they do is very great in destroying leather 

 coats and other grubs. Missel thrushes with us never eat 

 fruit, as far as I know, and are not otherwise injurious. The 

 same writer states (Nature, February 18th, 1915, p. 673) 

 that all birds except doves and pigeons feed their young on 

 an animal, chiefly insect, diet, except, perhaps, the blackcap. 

 The Missel thrushes, however, observed by Mrs. Richardson 

 (Proc. D.F.C., XXIII., 67) fed their young largely on elm seeds 

 and ivy berries, as well as worms. The published accounts of 

 the courtship and nesting and other habits of the Adelie 

 Penguin in Antarctic regions are most interesting and 

 entertaining, but too long to refer to here. It is well known 

 that migrating birds are much attracted by lighthouses, 

 and often die from exhaustion when fluttering at the light. 

 To obviate this, perches have been placed near the lights in 

 four lighthouses, and are crowded with birds at night during 

 the migrating seasons. An attempt has been made to obtain 

 information at the Natural History Museum as to all whales, 

 porpoises, and dolphins stranded on our coasts, with such 

 particulars as could be obtained. The results are issued 

 in a Report, the total number recorded in 1913 being 76. 

 My last zoological note is of a " wolf child," a girl about 

 nine years old, who has apparently lived for years in the 

 jungle and was recently captured near Naini Tal. The 

 addresses of the Presidents of the British Association and 

 of the Zoological and Physiological sections were on Heredity, 

 Evolution, and Research in Medicine respectively, and may 



