aS Mellor, Destruction of Birds. ^^^^ 



Emu 



July 



one of the largest Albatross colonies in these waters. During 

 Mr. Bryan's inspection the hunters had only secured 13 

 specimens of the Albatross, but he estimated that they had then 

 40,000 Terns' skins ready for shipment, that being the second 

 shipment for the season. A Tokio firm fitted out a ship at 

 Yokohama and dispatched her to Lisiansky Island. There were 

 87 killers, skinners, &c., on board, and before they could be 

 stopped by the American Revenue Service steamer Thetis they 

 had collected 335 cases of plumage, representing 300,000 birds. 

 In 1908 the skins of about 50,000 Terns were sent from this 

 locality to the London market, and the United States Govern- 

 ment at last made overtures of a pressing nature to the Japanese 

 Government, which stated that it would do its best to prevent 

 the depredations, but the work being carried on largely by lawless 

 marauders rendered the task a hard one. 



The extermination of Birds-of-Paradise of all species within a 

 comparatively brief period may be regarded as certain. Messrs. 

 Walter Goodfellow and Chas. B. Horsburgh journeyed lately to 

 New Guinea, and give some valuable notes. No fewer than 

 20,000 skins, Mr. Goodfellow estimates, are exported from 

 North and West Dutch New Guinea annually. The once fairly 

 numerous Jobi Bird-of-Paradise is now so scarce that only 90 

 skins were obtained in 1906. The gorgeous Red Bird-of- 

 Paradise, whose habitat is the Island of Waigiou, has now 

 become very rare, young males and females being shot, in 

 addition to the full-plumaged males. The Great Bird-of- 

 Paradise, found only in the Aru Islands, is also being rapidly 

 exterminated. For some years previous to 1907 two Chinese 

 plumage-hunters at Humboldt's Bay, in north-west New Guinea, 

 exported every three months 12,000 bird skins, chiefly of the 

 Lesser Bird-of-Paradise, whose habitat is in those regions. Mr. 

 Horsburgh found Prince Rudolph's Bird-of-Paradise everywhere 

 extremely rare, only three specimens being seen during weeks of 

 searching. 



Mr. Buckland shows that the eye of the plume-hunter is on 

 our native Australian birds. The Emu is doomed. Recently 

 490 of these birds were killed in Queensland in a single " drive," 

 and of these 419 were smuggled out of Australia and sold in 

 the London commercial sale-rooms, on 4th August, 1909. 

 The Lyre-Bird (^Menura) is fast disappearing. In 1907 180 

 tails were sold at the London feather sales. The handsome 

 black and gold Regent-Bird {Seriadus melinus) is, next to the 

 Rifle- Bird {Ptilorhts), the most sought after for its feathers of 

 any bird in Australia. It was once found within a short 

 distance of Port Jackson, but one has to go very far afield 

 now to see one. 



