Birds that are Land and Water Feeders. 135- 



13th February, 1914. 



Chairman — Dr William Semple, M.A., B.Sc, Ph.D. 



Birds that are Land and Water Feeders. 



By Wilson H. Armistead. 



As you look from a railway carriage window while the 

 train passes through an agricultural district you will see, as 

 field after field conies into view, large numbers of birds of 

 various kinds. These fields are cultivated by man with a view 

 to supplying the necessities of life. Man feeds off the pro- 

 duce of the fields, so do the birds. It is scarcely to be won- 

 dered at that one should enquire whether the foraging of the 

 birds is beneficial, harmful, or neutral to the interests of man. 

 It is foolish to dismiss this problem with the remark — " Oh, 

 there Is plenty for both." As a matter of fact there is not. 

 If the commoner kinds of birds, numbered in hundreds of 

 thousands, are taking toll off man's food and rendering no 

 service, or only a very slight one, in return, something must 

 be done. Certain kinds of birds are rapidly increasing — 

 much more rapidly than the casual observer has any idea of. 

 Our population is also increasing, and long ago the land of 

 this country ceased to provide sufficient for our needs. Every 

 cultivated acre is of importance — increasing importance. Is 

 it any wonder, then, that we ask what these birds are costing 

 us? Here is a simple calculation illustrating what I mean, 

 if a rook takes 3 oz. of food a day, 100 birds will consume 

 i8f lbs. a day, 121 lbs. a week, and within a pound or two of 

 7 cwt. a year. -Now, the question is — What is that food? Is 

 it a loss to the community, or is it beneficial to the land? Is 

 it both? and, if so, is the loss greater than the gain? 



However, I am not concerned with rooks to-night. I 

 want to put before you some notes regarding the feeding 

 habits of the gulls. Have you ever been down on the sea 

 shore on an afternoon when the gulls are flying seaward, and 

 watched the seemingly endless procession sailing down the 

 valleys? On fine days you may see them high in the air, 

 with the horizontal rays of the afternoon sun gleaming on 



