164 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



done to restore the balance among our native 

 species. Not by legislation, albeit all laws re- 

 straining the wholesale destruction of bird life 

 are welcome. On this subject the Honourable 

 Auberon Herbert has said, and his words are 

 golden: "For myself, legislation or no legisla- 

 tion, I would turn to the friends of animals in 

 this country, and say, 'If you wish that the friend- 

 ship between man and animals should become a 

 better and truer thing than it is at present, you 

 must make it so by countless individual efforts, by 

 making thousands of centres of personal in- 

 fluence/ " 



The subject is a large one. In this paper the 

 question of the introduction of exotic birds will 

 be chiefly considered. Birds have been blown by 

 the winds of chance over the whole globe, and 

 have found rest for their feet. That a large 

 number of species, suited to the conditions of this 

 country, exist scattered about the world is not to 

 be doubted, and by introducing a few of these 

 we might accelerate the change so greatly to b 

 desired. At present a very considerable amount 

 of energy is spent in hunting down the small con- 

 tingents of rare species that once inhabited our 



