ON THE PRESERVATION OF WILD BIRDS. 



45 



ON THE PRESERVATION OF WILD BIRDS, 

 Injurious and Beneficial to the Agriculturist, etc. 



Owing to the ruthless destruction during recent years of certain 

 wild birds, and the unnecessary and mischievous preservation of 

 others, agriculturists, fruit-growers, horticulturists, and gardeners 

 have suffered to a considerable extent. 



At the present time many wild birds exceedingly beneficial to 

 the farmer are annually destroyed in large numbers, whilst others, 

 which are undoubtedly injurious to crops, etc., are protected. 



During the past year there has been much discussion upon 

 this subject amongst agriculturists in all parts of the country, and 

 various resolutions have been passed. .There appears, however, to 

 be much misunderstanding respecting the food habits of the 

 different species condemned, and room for some information upon 

 this all-important point. 



At the outset let me state a fact that is far too often over- 

 looked by many who advocate the indiscriminate protection of wild 

 birds that there are certain species which are distinctly beneficial 

 to the farmer, fruit-grower, and gardener, if not allowed to become 

 too numerous, but as soon as their numbers exceed a certain limit 

 they become equally injurious, and cannot be regarded as other 

 than enemies. 



As yet neither the farmer nor bird-lover have paid sufficient 

 attention to sifting the facts and separating the same from preju- 

 dice and hearsay. We want much more detailed information as to 

 the food of different birds, and the collection of this information 

 must extend over the whole twelve months of the year and for 

 successive years. It is only by carefully considering and judi- 

 ciously weighing the information thus obtained that we shall ever 

 arrive at sound conclusions. 



No one I think, will deny that birds as a class are much more 

 beneficial than they are injurious to the agriculturist. This is 

 openly granted by farmers and others, but it is with reference to, 

 comparatively speaking, a few species only that so much diversity 

 of opinion exists. 



We have about two hundred and eighty species of British 

 birds, a fair percentage of which are so rare or small in numbers 

 that they do. not affect the subject under consideration. In the 

 same manner, all those species aquatic and littoral in their habits 

 may be left out of consideration. Thus we reduce the list down 

 to about eighty-five species, of which fifty may be said to feed 

 exclusively upon insect life such, for instance, as the swift, 

 swallow, martin, flycatchers, wagtails. 



