SCIENCE BULLETIN, No. 15. 



Appendices Hand III should prove of gi'eat value to future workers in this 

 invereso.ng economic field, inasmuch as they form a basis showing the food 

 o_ individual birds, which can be added to Irom time to time as further birds 

 are examined, and then when a sufficient number of these are available, a 

 iabu laved examination &uch as appears in Appendix I could be again drawn 

 up indicating the food of various species of birds in the light of more extended 

 experience. Obviously before any individual species of bird can be rightly 

 assessed economically from the point of view of its food habits, a large number 

 of individuals, preferably several hundred, must be examined in detail. 

 To enable the results of. previous workers to be added to the investigations 

 of latar workers, the data as regard J individual birds must be available, as a 

 lummary of the food of a species will not necessarily indicate the proclivity 

 of the individuals 01 that species to feed on a particular food. 



The thanks of the compilers cf this Bulletin are due to the gentlemen 

 whose names are mentioned in the introduction to Appendices I and II 

 on page 22, who have EO mateiially assisted in the work by forwarding 

 specimens of birds for examination. To the cordial co-operation of 

 botanists, entomologists, ornithologists, and other workers in special 

 branches of Natural History, the present Bulletin owes much of its value. 

 The result shows again the important bearing thb different sciences have 

 upon each other, and how all work together to the ultimate good of the 

 wliob community when brought to be r Li practical application to meet the 

 u :cds of our primary producers. 



Br.ad Summary of Results, espeoially from ths Point of View of the 

 Blow-fly Pest in Sheep. 



The value of these examinations would have been much enhanced could 

 a greater number of birds have been examined. From the results obtained, 

 however, the following summarised results may be given as being of most 

 importance from the point of view of the investigations into the blow-fly 

 pest. 



Sparrow and Starling. Though useful to a slight extent, they do much 

 more harm than good. There is not the slightest prospect of their ever being 

 eliminated from Australia. Their presence should not in any way be 

 fostered, and, according to circumstances, most energetic means may be 

 adopted to ensure their destruction in localised areas, provided such means 

 do not jeopardise the lives of useful native birds. Neither the starling nor 

 the sparrow apparently plays any definite part in controlling the blow-fly 

 post. 



Crow. Whilst doing marked harm at times, the crow undoubtedly is on 

 other occasions of decided value. By destroying dead carcases it tends to 

 prevent the multiplication of the blow-flies that blow sheep. It is a bird 

 that can practically never be exterminated, on account of its wary habits. 

 Before any sheep-owner decides to adopt energetic measures to destroy it in 

 his neighbourhood he should carefully calculate as to whether its value in 

 hie particular instance is not greater than the losses caused by it. 



