ninis. 7707 



sand inanin and ihe woodpecker had bolli been observed near Lerwick. As regards 

 the bridled guillemot, they certainly do not nest apart fiuni ihe others; nor are the 

 eugs distinguishable ; indeed the very bridle mark is variable in individuals. Brun- 

 nich's guillemot we could never see or hear of. Dr. Edmonsion has previously men- 

 tioned that during the breeding season Richardson's skua feeds largely on the berries 

 of the heatlit r, and this we found to be the case last year. It seems probable that the 

 snow bunting may occasionally breed in Shetland, as we heard of a pair or two 

 remaining till the end of June, though we could not succeed in finding any nest. The 

 common skua will soon, I am sorry to say, disappear from the list of British breeding 

 birds : a very few pairs now remain on Hermanness. Dr. Edmonsion, at a heavy 

 expense, maintained a keeper for twenty years, and these fine birds increased from 

 three to about fifty pairs. A Swiss collector or dealer, or amateur dealer, or some- 

 thing of that disreputable class, then shot down some sixteen pairs, wounding, at the 

 same time, many others, and since then the eggs have been taken yearly, so that no 

 young birds are hatched ; and four or five years will witness their extinction. Mr. T. 

 Edmonston of Booness, the proprietor, allows me to state that he will appoint a 

 keeper, if a fund for the purpose can be obtained ; about £5 or £6 would be sufficient, 

 and he has kindly agreed to subscribe £2 himself towards the amount. Any gentle- 

 man who would lament the loss of such a bird to our fauna, and does not expect to 

 gain "an equivalent," as collators say, will perhaps be kind enough to write to the 

 editor of the 'Zoologist' or to myself. — W. D. Crotch ; Uphill House, Weston-' 

 iuper-Mare. 



Destruction of Small Birds : an Appeal to the Farmer, Src — I invite attention 

 from all who claim as their right an enlightened mind. Who amongst us, as early 

 spring advances, revealing itself to our gladdened sight, after percbnuce a stern and 

 severe winter, but delights to hear pouring forth, from tree, shrub and every leafy dale, 

 the sweet harmonious carol of our common songsters? There is scarcely an English- 

 man who does not claim this as his peculiar right. Yet these harmless creatures are 

 daily, hourly and quietly disappearing from our land. In proof of this we have only 

 to notice the ravages of caterpillars among gooseberry and currant bushes this season. 

 Great spaces are made in gardens by these destructive enemies of the gardener, who 

 adopts, as the only apparent means of saving the fruit, the precaution of gathering as 

 fast as possible. It is well known that small birds have been and are ruthlessly and 

 systematically destroyed, quite harmless species sharing the fute of those which may 

 by chance steal a seed or two. To the natural foes thai each tribe has to contend with 

 may be added the professional destroyer, whose quack nostrum is advertised in every 

 paper as capable of poisoning large numbers. It must not, in future, surprise 

 farmers, gardeners and others, if insects become formidable in the field and garden, 

 in the absence of those whose natural food is the insect tribe. We learn that our 

 French neighbours have taken up the subject, and that the Senate, after being occu- 

 pied with a long Report on the lark and sparrow question, requested the Minister of 

 Agriculture to adopt some practical plan for stopping the indiscriminate killing of 

 birds. In the course of the sitting a complete exposition of entomology, in reference 

 to the various insects destructive of the olive, vine, grain, garden crops, &c., was set 

 forth, and State interference on behalf of the winged vermin-hunters urged. The 

 thou{;htless man nails a bat, an owl or a crow to his barn door ; but a scrutiny of what 

 fills the crops of these supposed nuisances would leach him sense. No senator seemed 

 aware of the efforts made to import and naturalize the common field birds of England 



