6o2 



NA TURE 



\_April 26, 1888 



are not going to make the calculation — indeed, for com- 

 parison's sake, the statistics of many other counties are 

 as yet wanting ; but we think it would appear that not 

 many English shires would show a more creditable roll 

 of real inhabitants, whether breeding within its borders, 

 or so regularly visiting it at fixed seasons as to deserve 

 recognition as denizens. Of the former, we think Wilt- 

 shire could fairly claim 100, and of the latter 50, making 

 the respectable number of 150, to which might be added 

 29 for irregular visitants to be legitimately included, after 

 deducting the aforesaid (16 -f 40 =) 56 from Mr. Smith's 

 total of 235. Our author may think very hardly of us 

 for thus diminishing the ornithic wealth of his county, 

 but we assure him that he would have little cause to com- 

 plain of the result were the same rule applied to the 

 so-called "avifaunas" of other inland shires. 



This, however, is a theme we will not pursue. 

 Rather let us speak of the manifest merits of Mr. Smith's 

 volume. One of them stands out pre-eminently in that 

 he has accorded so much space to two species very in 

 teresting to all who care for English birds — the Raven 

 and the Heron. Of the former, which in days not so long 

 past had numerous homes in Wilts, an account is given 

 which in years to come will, we are sure, be regarded as 

 of the highest interest, for it is compiled from information 

 obtained by no fewer than no correspondents in various 

 parts of the county, and is in itself a proof of well-directed 

 energy. The result is, of course, a mournful one. 



" It will be seen that the history of the Ravens of Wilt- 

 shire is, alas ! rather a history of that which is past and 

 gone than of that which is flourishing to-day ; so perse- 

 cuted, shot down, trapped, and despoiled of their young 

 have these noble birds been at the hands of ruthless 

 gamekeepers and others, who have gone upon the false 

 issue that they are very destructive to game, whereas, 

 with the exception of an occasional raid on a leveret or a 

 rabbit, they do little harm in the preserves, for the Raven 

 cannot bear an inclosed district — he must have plenty of 

 room to disport himself ; and as to being ' cabin'd, cribb'd, 

 confin'd' within narrow woods, he eschews them alto- 

 gether, and only during the breeding-season will he con- 

 sent to occupy some big tree in the park, generally the 

 highest and most inaccessible he can find, and there he 

 and his mate return, year after year, to occupy their 

 accustomed nursery '' (p. 222). 



It would seem, from Mr. Smith's information, that out 

 of the twenty-two localities he names, sixteen have wholly 

 ceased to be tenanted by this species, four are doubtful, 

 and in tivo only has the bird certainly still a home. But 

 how many English counties could claim such a distinction 

 as that ? Some of the larger landowners, as the Duke 

 of Beaufort, Lords Bath and Pembroke (to their credit be 

 it said), have been disposed to protect this very interesting 

 and (as the writer from his own experience can assert) 

 comparatively harmless species ; but gamekeepers' pre- 

 judices are almost beyond control, and probably nothing 

 short of a reward given on the hatching-off of a ravenry, 

 combined with dismissal on the murder of a breeding- 

 bird, would insure protection. A scientific man naturally 

 shuns sentiment as such, but curious it is that the owners 

 of historic estates do not perceive the value of all their 

 historic cjssociations ; andan ancient Raven-tree, still occu- 

 pied by the descendants of many a generation, would be 

 no mean adjunct to the glories of Badminton or Bowood, 

 Longleat or Wilton ! Where the proprietor does not 



exert himself, the doom of the species is as certain as 

 that of the Bustard has proved to be. 



The Bustard, in popular opinion, is always more asso- 

 ciated with the Wiltshire Downs or Salisbury Plain than 

 with any other part of England. But needless to observe 

 that herein, as usual, popular opinion is wrong, and anyone 

 who seeks will find that in reality the association termi- 

 nated much longer ago than in four or five other counties. 

 Mr. Smith natui-ally devotes a good deal of space — much 

 of it being, we regret to say, wholly beside the purpose — 

 to this grand bird ; and indeed its gilt figure decorates 

 the cover of his volume. We must, however, express 

 ourselves somewhat disappointed at the result, though it 

 is one not unexpected. The statements of the editor of 

 Pennant in 1812, and of Montagu in 1813, are confirmed, 

 and in a small degree supplemented ; but, says our 

 author : — 



" After this I have no record on which I can rely of 

 any native Wiltshire Bustard ; but I have had many state- 

 ments, to which I listened attentively, from thirty to forty 

 years ago, from old shepherds, farmers, and labourers, 

 several of whom could well recollect seeing these birds 

 on the downs in their early days, but from whom I could 

 obtain no reliable information as to date ; for the Wilt- 

 shire countryman, good honest soul, is not observant of 

 detail, and as to dates he ignores them altogether — ' a 

 long whiles ago ' conveniently covering half a century. 

 However, by putting together the information gained 

 from many sources, and by comparing the several 

 statistics which I thought reliable, I arrived at the 

 opinion (perhaps somewhat indistinct and hesitating) that 

 our Wiltshire Bustard lingered on till about the year 

 1820" (pp. 355,356.) 



This date may be approximately correct ; but it is un- 

 deniable that for several years later the Bustard inhabited 

 the Wolds of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, and was not 

 extirpated in Suffolk in 1832, nor in Norfolk until 1838 ; 

 since which time all the examples that have occurred in 

 England (Wiltshire included) may rightly be regarded as 

 foreign visitors. 



Mr. Smith's account of the Heron, before mentioned, is 

 as satisfactory as that which he gives of the Raven ; but 

 here it must suffice to say that Wiltshire boasts of seven 

 heronries, besides twenty-two offshoots. Some of the 

 former, however, are but recently established, and fresh 

 colonies are always forming ; for in this county, as else- 

 where in England, is observable the tendency of these 

 birds to break up and colonize — a fact almost undoubt- 

 edly due, as has been pointed out by more than one 

 writer, to the increased difficulty of finding in one spot 

 food for their young, induced by the more complete 

 drainage of the country. 



We have left ourselves no space for other matters on 

 which we should like to dwell, as the honest enthusiasm 

 of our author makes us a little blind to his faults — whether 

 of omission or commission — the latter certainly pre- 

 dominating ; for in his desire to give information to his 

 readers he says a great deal more than is necessary in a 

 faunistic work, especially as to classification, nomen- 

 clature, structure, and so forth — all matters that are best 

 left to experts, and their treatment (which is far from 

 perfect) only swells the volume to an uncomfortable 

 size. We also freely excuse his many old-fashioned ways, 

 which will, however, be no blemish, if they be not a 

 positive blessing, in the eyes of most of his readers. The 



