^94 THE TICTOBIAX NATURAI>IST. [Vol. XXIII. 



podargus, often erroneously called the " mopoke," is 

 specially fond of those large moths which are responsible 

 for the destruction of the wattle-trees. Our much-abused 

 crow will consume over a pint of grasshoppers in a day. 

 But the most valuable of all our native birds are the ibis 

 and bustard, which are credited with the consumption of 

 nearly half-a-gallon of crickets, grasshoppers, or beetles 

 fer diem. Then there are a number of waders, such as 

 dottrels, herons, stilts, avocetsi, mud larks, &c., which 

 seek their food in shallow swamps, and devour great 

 numbers of those fresh-water snails which are the host of 

 the fluke, so destructive to sheep. INIost farmers' wives 

 are anxious for the death of every hawk they see, but the 

 pretty little nankeen kestrel never kills chickens, although 

 he will hover near a haystack all day, in order to capture 

 the mice which damage the fodder. It is satisfactory to 

 know that the State Government has placed most of our 

 insectivorous birds under the protection of the Game Act. 

 and it will be of benefit to both teachers and scholars if 

 one of the Game Schedules is posted in the school, and 

 the children taught to know that the eggs, as well as the 

 'birds, are protected. 



To Prepare Bird Skins* 



That the preparation of birds' skins i^ not so difficult 

 .a matter as some people imagine I wi'll now proceed to 

 demonstrate. To begin with, the tools required are a 

 sharp penknife, pair of scissors, piece of wire, gum brush. 

 and small sponge. The materials consist of some arsenical 

 soap, plaster of Paris, tow, wadding, and needle and 

 thread. When the bird is shot, a small piece of wadding 

 .should be pushed down the throat to prevent leakage of 

 l>lood or other fluid on to the feathers. Then make a 

 .screw bag of stiff paper (old copy-books will do), like 

 those used by grocers. Drop the bird in head first, close 

 the bag without bending the tail, and place it in the 

 basket. On your arrival home, the bird will be found nice 

 and smooth. In preparing the bird for skinning, remove 

 the soiled waddling from the throat, and replace it with 

 a fresh piece. Take your needle and thread, and pass 

 the former through the nostril and lower bill, so that the 

 two mandibles can be tied close together. Cut off the 

 thread about 9 inches from the head, leaving the at- 

 tached piece for future use. Then examine the bird for 



* Of cour.se, it is not nece,ssary that our inipils should do any bird killing-. 



