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some cases the birds may undoubtedly be tamer, thej r have

rarely the stamina of a wild-caught bird, and but few live to

reach maturity.


The House Sparrow is most properly condemned ; it is

undoubted^ too abundant in this country at the present time,

and, being of a very pugnacious disposition, plays no small part

in driving away many rarer and more beautiful birds, eg., the

Goldfinch, Linnet, etc. If only the ‘killing’ instinct of the

average British boy could be directed against it, we have no

hesitation in saying that the country would be distinctly the

gainer, both agriculturally and ornithologically. Dr. Butler’s

experience of the Tree Sparrow does not coincide with ours ;

with us it has always been a most delightful and sprightly bird,

breeding freely in confinement, though never becoming very

tame.


The following sentence relating to the obnoxious habits of

any particular species, is worthy of serious consideration :—If

man would let nature alone he would find the balance perfedt,

but he interferes everywhere and makes a mess of it.’ The

whole of nature is, as it were, a large living being, in which

each unit has its appointed place in Nature’s economy, and not

one of these units can be interfered with without the effects

being felt far and wide.


The author’s remarks on the Jay leave little to be desired,

although, perhaps, he has hardly said as much about them as of

many other birds. Dr. Butler wonders at the scarcity of its

nests ; but it is owing, we believe, to that apparent scarcity that

it is not much rarer. The fact is that this bird, usually so noisy,

becomes, during the nesting-season, absolutely quiet unless the

nest is actually touched ; and it is owing to the absence of the

usual cries that keepers imagine that Jays do not nest in their

woods, greatly, we are glad to say, to the benefit of the Jay.


We give below a quotation from the article on the Magpie,

which is interesting as illustrating a change of habits similar to

that of the sheep-eating Parrots of Australia, and worthy of

further investigation.


“ Although fond of woodland and forest, the Magpie is not stribtly

confined to them, for it often wanders through well-timbered valleys or

even over moorland; whilst in pastures it may not unfrequently be

observed upon the backs of feeding cattle, searching for ticks and maggots.

Referring to this habit, Lord Lilford observes : —‘ I am assured by an ex¬

perienced tenant-farmer in our neighbourhood that he considers this

remedy worse than the desease, as the Magpies, in the search for maggots,



